Balcony Dinner Series: Crispy Ginger Beef

In the past 2 weeks that we've been married, John and I have been taking turns making dinner and eating them out on the balcony.

It's been so nice, especially since I was practically never home last year (what with school, placement, and work) and this summer I was working til 9 every night. Nights where we could sit down to dinner together were few and far between.

And generally when we did get to have dinner together we would make something quick and eat it on the couch watching TV together.

Eating dinner on the balcony removes the distractions and lets us talk about our day and anything else we want to share.

It's also been a nice opportunity to get back in the kitchen and cook again.

 

John's favourite dish when w order Chinese food is crispy ginger beef. Feeling lazy one night I suggested we just order in chinese. We ended up just making something quick but it inspired me to find a recipe so that I could make it for John.

 

I put together an Asian-inspired meal, with wonton soup (my favourite), a turkey terriyaki stir fry (complete with bok choy), and crispy ginger beef.

The recipe is relatively easy (with the exception of frying the beef) and turns out absolutely delicious.

I used a package of mixed vegetables that I bought from an Asian vegetable market. Cabbage really works well with this dish.

I also cooked chow mein noodles to soak up the delicious ginger sauce.

 

Balcony Dinner Series

 

 

Turkey terriyaki stir fry

 

Crispy Ginger Beef

Here's the recipe I used

(from allrecipes.com)

 

 

You will need: 

• 1 lb flank steaks or 1 lb sirloin steak, sliced into narrow strips
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1 large carrot, julienned
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh ginger, minced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• canola oil
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

1. Place cornstarch in a large bowl. Add water gradually while whisking.
2. Beat eggs into cornstarch mixture. Toss in beef and stir to coat.
3. Pour 1 inch of oil into wok, heat until boiling hot, but not smoking. Add a quarter of the beef to the oil. Seperate with a fork and cook, stirring frequently, until crispy, Remove, drain on paper towel and set aside. Repeat until all the beef is cooked.
4. Drain off all oil except for about 1 tablespoons and add carrots, (I also added cabbage and broccoli which I recommend) onion, ginger, and garlic in that order. Stir fry briefly over high heat.
5. Combine last 5 ingredients and add to vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil and then add beef. Heat thorough and serve immediately
 

You won't regret making this for dinner!