Wok Curry Beef

By Eleanor Hoh, Wok Star

I wanted to combine both my heritages in one dish, so I chose Wok Curry Beef because my mother was born in Singapore, and my dad’s family is Hakka, but born in Malacca.  My mother introduced me to using a cast iron wok and I’ve been an advocate and enthusiast ever since.  So much so, in fact,  that I became a wok cooking teacher and put together a “Wok Star Kit” to show people how easy it is to cook in a wok once you have the right wok, heat and technique down pat.  I’m always encouraging people to use their woks to cook everything, not just Asian stir frys.

This Wok Curry Beef is a very simple dish, perfect for nights when you crave something spicy and quick.  You can replace beef with any protein you like or use firm tofu, which works beautifully.  Instead of rice, I made soba noodles. Since I don’t teach using recipes or measure, I put my seasonings in dispensers so it’s easy to “squirt, squeeze, and shake’.  I taste and adjust as I go along, which makes cooking so much fun.  Below, I’ve provided a basic marinade which you can use on poultry, seafood, pork, and even toufu.  You can also substitute the veggies with whatever is fresh and seasonal or with whatever veggies you like.

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh green beans
1 red bell pepper
1/2 medium size onion
4-6 cloves garlic
thumb size fresh ginger
1 lb. beef (tenderloin tip or flap steak)
water for parboiling beans
pinch of salt
ice water bath
Squirt of lime

1 tblsp. canola oil for frying veggies
1 1/2 tblsp. canola oil for frying beef

Marinade: (I put my seasonings in dispensers)
1 tblsp. tamari (I use San-J black label, has richness and depth)
1 tsp. medium drinking sherry
2-3 dashes of white ground pepper
2-3 shakes of cornstarch

3/4  tblsp. good curry powder (I put this in a shaker so you can add more to your liking)

1. Boil water in your wok or pan and add pinch of salt to parboil the beans till just tender.  It only takes a few minutes, so do a taste test how you like your beans.  Drain and dunk in ice water bath to keep beans green and prevent further cooking.

2. Use a large chopping board. Slide a grocery bag under the board for your trimmings (see photo). Top and tail your beans, add to boiling salted water.  Cut your red bell pepper and onions into bite size pieces. Dice garlic and shred ginger. Leave all veggies on your chopping board to save washing up individual dishes.

3. Slice your beef thin and marinade. You don’t need to do this the night before. In fact, it’s best to do it right before you stir fry so it’s not mushy and goopy.  Marinading for a stir fry should be dry compared to a western marinade, which has more liquid.  Liquid ‘stews’ your meat and makes it tough and chewy.

4. First, fry veggies because they don’t stick to the wok like meat does. This saves you a cleanup step. Heat your wok on high (applies to cast iron), add 3 rounds of oil, immediately add half of your diced garlic and shredded ginger. Add onions, red bell pepper coating them with oil.  Now add your drained beans in and fry till they are still crispy and colorful.  Sprinkle curry powder all over your veggies. I love the smell of curry when it hits the heat. It’s very addictive.  Plate veggies on a platter.

5. Next, fry beef. Heat your wok on high and this time, add 4 rounds of oil, add garlic and ginger. Add beef and spread out in your wok, this gives your meat the crispy exterior and succulent inside. Once you see the beef turn golden brown on the side it’s frying,  you can start stir frying the whole batch.

6. Combine veg and beef. Add the veggies to the beef and combine in the wok and you’re done!

7. Plate your curry. To give it a little freshness, you can squirt a little lime juice on your curry and soba noodles.

Once you have the basic marinade, you can make lots of variations.  For this dish, I added curry powder I got from Malaysia. You can pick up curry powder from Indian markets.