If you're considering ways to reduce meat consumption, either for health or environmental reasons, but still have an occasional hankering for beef, try this Thai stir fry dish. Using a food processor for vegetable shredding, this recipes creates a quick and tasty one-dish meal with ample but not excess protein. One key to successful stir fry is quick cooking in very hot oil, so you need to use an oil that has a high smoking point (just like it sounds, the temperature at which the oil starts to smoke). If you're interested, Cooking for Engineers blog provides a comprehensive chart listing the smoking points of various cooking oils and fats. In this dish, I used shredded broccoli stems instead of bean sprouts. You can save the florets for another use. Broccoli is a common ingredient and keeps well, so I don't have to worry about bean sprouts going bad before I use them.
Yield: 4 servings
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
4 carrots
Stems from 3-4 broccoli bunches
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 small onion, diced
3/4 lb lean steak (your choice of cut)
2 T safflower oil or other cooking oil with high smoking point
1 t Thai chili paste
1 T fish sauce
1 T rice vinegar
1/2 t sesame oil
2 T low-sodium soy sauce
7-9 ounces Thai rice noodles, dry
2 quarts hot water
Shred carrots and broccoli stems in food processor.
Slice steak into 2"x 1/2" strips. Mix chili paste, fish sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce in a small bowl. Place rice noodles and hot water in a large bowl or pan. Let noodles soak while stir frying other ingredients.
Heat oil in wok or saute pan, then add garlic; cook until golden. Add onion; cook about 2 minutes. Add beef; cook about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Push beef to sides of pan; add carrots and broccoli, cook about 2 minutes. Add noodles, then stir in sauce mixture. Let cook 2-3 more minutes. Serve immediately.
Per-serving Nutritional Profile:
Calories, 400
Fat, 11 g
Saturated Fat, 2 g
Cholesterol, 30 mg
Carbs, 57 g
Dietary Fiber, 2 g
Protein, 19 g
Sodium, 700 mg
Vitamin A, 210% Daily Value
Vitamin C, 10% Daily Value
Calcium, 6% Daily Value
Iron, 15% Daily Value
