Sizzling Garlic Beef

This was the yummiest stirfry I have had in a long time. It was light and flavourful and wonderful. I found it while I was organising my bookmarks into some semblance of order and I'm so glad I did. I got the fire up the electric wok, which I rarely do, and the whole meal was divine.

The beef is coated in a mixture of soy, sesame oil and cornflour and then stirfried in peanut oil over a very high heat in two batches. Remove the beef, add some onion and garlic and chilli and stirfry until fragrant. Add some julienned capsicum, some vegetable stock, kecap manis and the beef and stir until thick. Easy!

Sizzling Garlic Beef Stirfry
Adapted from Australian Good Taste March 2006, courtesy of Taste.com

500g stirfry beef
1 tbs cornflour
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cracked black pepper
2 tbs peanut oil
1 brown onion, halved and cut into wedges
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 tbs chive paste (I had blitzed some chives with a small amount of oil and frozen it in icecube trays)
1 large capsicum, thinly sliced
2/3 cup vegetable stock
2 tbs kecap manis
1 bunch Chinese greens, chopped
Steamed rice, to serve

Combine the beef, soy sauce, cornflour, sesame oil and pepper in a large bowl.

Heat 3 tsp of the peanut oil in a wok over high heat until just smoking. Add half the beef mixture and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until brown. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Repeat with 3 tsp of the remaining oil and the remaining beef mixture, reheating wok between batches.

Heat the remaining oil in the wok over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add the onion and chilli and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and half the chives and stir-fry for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add capsicum and stock and stir-fry for 3 minutes.

Return beef to the wok along with the kecap manis and remaining chives and stir-fry for 1 minute or until mixture boils and thickens. Serve with steamed rice.