From My Pantry : Beef and green stir fry

My beloved Irish Nanny always reminded me to wear something green on Saint Patrick’s Day. I still do this with happy memories of my sweet Nanny. All the years our daughters were growing up. they would wear something green to school as well. I know that I am much like my Nanny with my interests in gardening and cooking and preserving. My recipe for this special day even has green veggies in it along with the beef. So happy Saint Patrick’s Day to those of you who are Irish and those that wish they were!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1- strip loin steak – 12 oz. give or take (Just out of the freezer for a bit. You want it to be nearly frozen so you can thinly slice it with ease.)
• 3 tbsp. soya sauce
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tbsp. minced ginger root (either fresh or from a jar)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. Crisco oil
• 2 heads of broccoli with the stems
• 8 oz. button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 sweet yellow pepper
• 1/2 Spanish onion, sliced lengthwise
• 3 green onions
• 2 tbsp. soya sauce
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tbsp. Crisco oil

METHOD:
-The secret to a successful stir fry is to have everything cleaned, sliced or chopped before any cooking begins. Once all this is done, your whole stir fry will take only abour 10 minutes to cook.
-I also now started cooking some brown Basmati rice in my handy rice cooker to have with the stir fry. That takes 38 minutes to complete.
-Have your steak still nearly completely frozen. When you slice it thinly on the bias, the meat will slice up very safely, easily and thinly.
-In a medium sized bowl, combine the 3 tbsp. soya sauce, 1 tbsp. minced garlic, 1 tbsp. minced ginger and the 1 tsp. of sugar. Add the slices of steak to this and set aside for now.
-Rinse the broccoli and cut off the florets. Break or cut them into smaller bite-sized pieces and thinly slice the broccoli stems on the bias.
-Slice the mushrooms.
-Remove the core and seeds from the yellow pepper, then slice it into strips.
-Peel the Spanish onion and slice it into strips lengthwise.
-Cut the root ends off the green onions and cut them into 1- 1/2″ pieces on the bias.
-Now you are ready to cook!
-First, heat the 2 tbsp. of Crisco oil in a wok or deep frying pan. Add the beef strips with the soya sauce mixture to the hot oil. Stir fry the meat until no pink remains. This will take just a few minutes. Lift the meat from the pan and set it aside.
-To the hot wok, add the next 2 tbsp. of Crisco oil. (I set my electric wok to 375 degrees F.)
-Add the broccoli, mushrooms, yellow pepper and both onions with the next amount of soya sauce and minced garlic, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes.
-Add the beef and soy sauce mixture back into the pan and just cook for a minute to heat the beef strips.
-I served this alongside some nice hot brown Basmati rice for a satisfying supper. Extras re-heat beautifully. ENJOY!