This is a quick and simple recipe; it’s also budget friendly and versatile. My husband and I love Asian food, but we don’t always have the time or the energy to go out and eat. Also, with today’s rising costs on EVERYTHING, we’ve been trying to eat in more. I love to cook, so it’s not a bad thing. This week I dug to the bottom of our freezer to get some of the stuff that needed to be cooked before it turns into “needs to be thrown out.” I came across a pack of cubed meat that was from the ends of a beef loin I had purchased about 6 months ago. Now, I’m not saying you have to use filet mignon on this recipe! That would NOT be budget friendly! That’s the awesome thing about this recipe, though. You can used sirloin, ribeye, ground beef, pork, chicken or seafood. It’s going to be delicious no matter what your protein! So let’s get started!
What you’ll need:
Yield: 3-4 servings
- 1 1/2 lbs of beef (you can use any protein you want. If I didn’t have a freezer bag full of beef loin cubes, I would have used a thinly cut sirloin)
- 8 oz cooked noodles (I used Rice noodles, but fettuccine or spaghetti would work, too)
- 3-4 cups of frozen veggies
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp fresh minced ginger
- 3 T low sodium soy sauce
- 1 T brown sugar
- 1 tsp Asian hot sauce
- Salt
- Pepper
Step by step:
Slice your beef into bite sized strips or cubes. Preheat a wok to medium high with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Get the pan good and hot because we want a sear on our meat vs. boiling it – that’s why meat goes in the pan first before we have a lot of liquid in there. Put your meat in the wok and salt and pepper the meat. Sear the meat for a few minutes until no longer pink on the outside.
Once you have a sear on your meat, remove from the pan and pour any juice from the pan over the meat. It’s okay if the inside of the steak is still pink, the meat will go back in the pan once the veggies are cooked.
Now, bring heat down to medium, add your sesame oil, another Tablespoon of olive oil and your garlic and ginger. Cook for a minute. Be careful not to burn. You should smell an aroma of garlic and ginger as they release their fragrance (YUM)
Now, add your vegetables and give them a good toss in the oil and garlic mixture. I salted a tiny bit more, but be careful because the soy sauce we will be adding is salted as well. You may want to wait until everything is in the wok and give it a taste before salting again. The vegetables need to cook for several minutes until they become soft but not mushy. You still want a little bite to them.
While your veggies are cooking, get started on the sauce. You’ll need a saucepan. Heat to medium and add your soy sauce, sugar and Asian hot sauce. Stir until sugar is melted and combined and mixture is bubbling.
Now, add the sauce to your veggies and give it all a toss. Add your meat back in and give it another toss. Last, add your noodles and toss again until everything has a nice glossy coating of the sugar/soy mixture. That’s it! Dinner is DONE.
