Rosie Stir Fries.

  It's been a while since I've posted a stir fry recipe,
and the Hawthornes love their stir fries.
Remember when stir frying -
the key is in the preparation.
Have everything ready to go.
Preparation takes longer than the actual cooking.
Your vegetables are fresh and crisp.
Your meat is seared.
That's the beauty of a stir fry.
 
 Every now and then,

I get a hankering for a stir fry.

And if I want a good one,

I have to do it myself.

I'm not happy with any of the China Macs on the beach.

The cut of beef I'm using today is the Denver steak,

a relatively inexpensive cut.

The Denver Steak is a fairly new cut

which didn't exist until the nation's 800,000 cattle ranchers

began a search for different cuts consumers would buy

besides steaks and ground beef.

Five years and $1.5 million later,

the Denver cut was invented

after the largest study ever done

on the edible anatomy of a steer.

The Denver steak is cut from the chuck - the shoulder,

an exercised, heavily used muscle which is tough,

but full of flavor.  

Usually this muscle is assigned to chuck roast or hamburger,

but the meat industry started researching

and digging around in the carcass and found

muscles which when separated and cut in a certain way

were tender enough to be sold as steak or roast.

Oh, happy day!

I thinly sliced some ginger and garlic.

Rosie tip #458:

When you buy ginger,

slice it into 1 inch chunks and freeze it.

That way you'll always have it on hand.

Marinate the meat in the ginger, garlic,

a little rice vinegar, and some soy sauce.

While the meat marinated,
I prepared the veggies -
green beans, broccoli, carrots,
 red and green peppers, onion, and mushrooms.

Junior wants food.

Time:  7:40

Heat up the wok over high heat,

add in a little peanut oil,

and toss in the broccoli and ...

...  the beans and ...

...  the carrots.

Stir fry.

Time:  7:42

Add in the shrooms and ...

... the onions and ...

... the peppers.

Time:  7:43.

Veggies are done.

Transfer to a bowl and cover.

Before stir frying the meat,

I like to add a little sugar to help in the caramelization.

 Time:  7:46

Bring the wok back up to temperature,

add in a little peanut oil,

and add in the beef, in three batches.

Add the first two stir fried batches to the veggies.

Mix a little cornstarch in the marinade.

Time:  7:51

Add in the cornstarch/marinade mixture.

Time:  7:52

Return vegetables and first two batches of beef to the wok

and stir fry.

Time:  7:53

Dinner is ready.

Isn't this pretty?