Oh My...It's Beef & Veggie Stir-fry!

This evening I was in the mood for "Chinese".  I stopped at the store on the way home to pick up some beef to make a stir-fry with.  I found a beautiful 1-pound package of top round steak that was already sliced for stir-fry.  I normally like to cut my own steak, but this package of meat was unusually beautiful so I bought it, and in doing so, saved myself a step.  I love lots of different veggies in my stir-fries.

I cut up about 2 cups of fresh broccoli florets and steamed those for 3 minutes in a few tablespoons of water (covered) in the microwave.  I added a handful of fresh snow peas on top of the steamed broccoli, covered them, and steamed an additional minute in the microwave. I sliced 3 mini peppers; red, yellow and orange and 2 green spring onions.  I added thinly sliced red cabbage to add some crunch and color.  I minced 2 large cloves of garlic to add flavor to the dish.

To cook, I heated a couple tablespoons of extra virgin coconut oil on medium high heat in my wok and added a couple pinches of red pepper flakes and the beef and stir-fried just until the meat was no longer pink. I used a large spoon and spooned the juices off into a bowl as the meat cooked it would sear nicely (not simmer in its own juices). I spooned about 1/2 cup of beef juices off into my bowl and set it aside to use to make the sauce later.

I transferred the cooked beef to a plate and then added the minced garlic to the hot wok with another pinch of red pepper flakes and stir-fried for a minute or so, then added half of the sliced green onions, all of the peppers, red cabbage and stir-fried them for a few minutes until crisp tender.  I then transferred the cooked veggies and placed on top of the beef so I could make a quick and simple sauce.  I poured the beef juices back into my wok and added about 3 tablespoons of organic Tamari sauce (which is basically a wheat free soy sauce), a few grinds of sea salt, another pinch of red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and then stirred in a heaping tablespoon of organic peanut butter to use as a thickener for the sauce. It doesn't take much and it gives you the same texture/consistency that you would normally get if you used traditional cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I tasted the sauce and adjusted it for seasoning.

This made just enough sauce to glaze and coat the stir-fry, so it is important to make the sauce flavorful.  If you like more sauce you can add more beef broth. I made do with what came out of the beef as it cooked, because I prefer it coated, not swimming in sauce.  I added in the beef along with the stir-fried veggies, the drained steamed broccoli and snow peas and tossed everything together to coat with the sauce. I served mine over a bed of steamed cauliflower rice (fresh cauliflower that I grated on a regular box-type grater and then steamed in the microwave for 3 minutes).  I don't add any water to the cauliflower rice when I steam it, and it comes out perfect. I snapped a few photos for you to see below.  Enjoy!