Saturday, January 03, 2015

Weekend Cooking: Beef and Shiitake Stir Fry

Over the last few years I have shared a number of posts about memorable meals. These have ranged from a simple meal of bread and cheese in France to goulash and chocolate cake for breakfast in Hungary but this week I wanted to talk about a meal that I had closer to home.

Many, many years ago I went out to a Chinese banquet with a group of friends. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but I do remember it was in the centre of Adelaide and I think you had to go downstairs to get to it. I have no idea what else we ate, but one of the courses was a beef and broccoli stir fry with oyster sauce. It was so delicious. Ever since them I have been in search of a repeat of the perfect experience, with mixed success. I quite often order beef and vegie stir fry in oyster sauce which is good, but just not quite as good as I remember. Maybe I have remembered it as much better than it actually was.

When I was first diagnosed with diabetes I borrowed a number of books from the library including the 4 Ingredients Diabetes book which is endorsed by Diabetes Australia.  I was pleased to find a recipe for Beef and Shiitake Stir Fry in there which I thought was probably worth trying. I have had mixed results with the 4 ingredients cook books in the past. I have used them to try some new ideas and then gone onto explore more complex recipes with more success at a later date. For example, a while ago I tried a tomato and pasta recipe that I thought was pretty bland but then that led me to try a recipe for Pasta Pomodoro which was delicious and wasn't that much harder that the 4 ingredients cook book.

One thing I liked from this recipe is that it challenged me to use ingredients I wouldn't normally use. Broccolini is a vegetable that I must confess I didn't really see the point of. Why not just used normal broccoli, but having used it in this recipe I have now gone on to buy some baby broccoli too which I am usually having with steamed fish and brown rice which is really delicious. The other thing is that shiitake mushrooms aren't always available from my supermarket so it is interesting to see what difference different types of mushrooms make to the taste.

The boy isn't particularly fond of this recipe but I like it enough to have made it a few times. Maybe he'll come round once I serve it up a few more times. That has happened before.  I usually serve it up with steamed basmati rice and take the leftovers to work for lunch over a couple of days. Maybe now I need to go and search for a more complex and subtle flavour combination. Watch this space.

Beef and Shiitake Stir Fry


500g rump steak, sliced
2 bunches broccolini, cut into 4cm lengths
200g shiitake mushrooms, sliced
4 tablespoons of oyster sauce

Heat a nonstick wok or frying pan over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons water, the beef, broccolini, and mushrooms; season to taste with pepper. Stir fry until the beef is just browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the oyster sauce and stir-fry until well coated and the vegetables just tender

Author's note:

I used oyster sauce which is high in sodium simply because I had it. To lower the sodium you could substitute oyster for black bean or hoisin sauce if you have them. To increase carbohydrates, toss through 400g of cooked rice noodles, though you may need a little extra sauce. Simply create by mixing 2 tablespoons of water from the cooked noodles with 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.

15 comments:

  1. So simple - I'm going to give this a try, though my local isn't likely to run to shiitake either.

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    Replies
    1. Vicki, I have tried it with brown, oyster and button mushrooms so don't stress too much about not having shiitake.

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  2. I know what you mean about 4-ingredient cookbooks -- usually there isn't enough complexity in flavor. But I imagine the oyster sauce itself is flavorful enough. I love broccolini and we buy it often and use for stir-fries or on it's own as a side veggie.

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    Replies
    1. For me, the oyster sauce can be a little strong, but it certainly is a good weeknight meal. Quick, easy and healthy.

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  3. I've also not seen the point of broccolini, but maybe I should give it a chance!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Joy, it is definitely easy for stir fries and steaming!

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  4. I've had mixed luck with the limited ingredient cookbooks as well but when the recipes are good they're usually amazing! This sounds tasty though I'm not sure I've ever had a broccolini!

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    Replies
    1. I will keep trying things if only in search of a little variety and inspiration!

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  5. Maybe my girls would like brocolini better than regular brocoli? Wonder how difficult it is to find. This sounds so easy but just four ingredients?!

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    Replies
    1. Trish, I can usually get broccolini and baby broccoli without any great difficulty. It's the mushrooms that are a bit harder to find.

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  6. I think my sons would love this recipe.

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  7. This sounds so easy and good-I love anything with broccoli or broccolini.

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    Replies
    1. Broccoli is my favourite vegetable! It's good to find different things to do with it.

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  8. Hi, Really great effort. Everyone must read this article. Thanks for sharing.

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