You can skip the takeout order and easily make your own spiced-up stir fry. Korean cooking includes a wide range of sizzling dishes served with steamed or stir-fried vegetables on a bed of hot rice, often employing ingredients familiar to other Asian pantries: soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and garlic, notes chef and cookbook author Marie Simmons, who contributed this recipe to Real Food. This marinade features gochugaru, hot Korean red-pepper paste. If it’s not available, you can substitute another Asian hot sauce, such as sriracha. This dish also works well made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
Spicy Pan-Seared Beef with Bell Peppers and Onions
Makes 4 servings
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons gochugaru
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 teaspoons ginger, peeled and grated
12 to 16 ounces 1/8– to 1⁄4-inch-thick slices beef tri tip, or other well-marbled cut
3 cups sushi rice
peanut, avocado or canola oil, as needed
3 cups red, green and/or yellow bell pepper, cut into 1⁄4-inch-thick slices
3 cups large yellow onion, sliced in 1⁄4-inch-thick half slices
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallion greens, for garnish
1. In a bowl, whisk together soy sauce, honey, vinegar, gochugaru, sesame oil, garlic and ginger until blended. Add more gochugaru to taste. Add beef and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. Just before serving, cook rice. Keep warm.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons frying oil in a large, heavy skillet over high heat until hot enough to sizzle a piece of pepper. Add pepper, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add onion and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned. Spoon vegetables onto a serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm. 4. Heat same skillet over high heat until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl to coat pan. When hot enough to sizzle a slice of beef, use a fork or tongs to add a few slices at a time. Sear 1 to 2 minutes per side. Arrange beef atop vegetables.
5. Reduce heat to medium low, add reserved marinade to skillet and boil gently, stirring, 1 minute. Pour over beef and vegetables or serve in a small bowl on the side. Serve over wide bowls of rice. Top with sliced scallion greens.
Spicy Pan-Seared Beef: Per Serving: Calories 475 (143 From Fat); Fat 16g (Sat. 3g); Chol 47mg; Sodium 937mg; Carb 58g; Fiber 4g; Protein 25g
