Orange Beef Stir-Fry with Onion and Snow Peas

Orange Beef Stir Fry

You know how they say the first rule of effective grocery shopping is to never go when you’re hungry? I think the same should be said of food blogging. It’s shortly after 5:00 P.M. and I’m sitting here with my stomach growling as I look at pictures of this orange beef stir-fry, remembering how delicious it was when we had it recently. If I had a genie in a bottle right now, I think I would make a foolish choice of fairy-tale proportions and wish I had some in my kitchen. It was that good. And I am that hungry.

This recipe comes from Cook’s Illustrated Science of Good Cooking. After taking chemistry over the summer, I figured maybe my brain has been science-ified enough to understand something about how cooking works from a scientific perspective, so I checked this hefty tome out from the library. Plus, I’ve heard Cook’s Illustrated recipes are some of the best around–after all, they tinker with them in a food lab  the size of my house (America’s Test Kitchen) to make sure everything comes out as deliciously as possible. According to The Science of Good Cooking, this high-heat stir-fry works so well because high heat develops flavor. Essentially, a high temperature enables a reaction between amino acids and sugars in the meat, developing a flavorful layer of compounds on its surface. This came as a bit of a surprise to me, as I tend to have a fear-the-reaper attitude toward cranking the heat on my stove all the way up to High. In cooking this meal, I was sure it would be too much. The meat would be too tough. It would burn. Nope! I should have known to believe the army of chefs and food testers who work at this full-time. High heat seared the beef to stir-fry perfection, and the sweet citrus sauce made an excellent complement to its savoriness. Throw some steaming rice and crisp-tender veggies in the mix and the whole thing becomes a succulent one-dish dinner.

And now please excuse me. I need to go eat something so I don’t start munching on my computer screen.

 

Orange Beef Stir Fry 2

 

Orange Beef Stir-Fry with Onion and Snow Peas
(Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated: The Science of Good Cooking)

Ingredients:

Sauce:

3/4 c. fresh-squeezed orange juice
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. cornstarch

Stir-Fry:

2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. packed light brown sugar
12 oz. thin-sliced flank steak
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger (or 1/4 tsp. ground ginger)
1 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, halved and cut into 1/2 inch wedges
10 oz. snow peas, strings removed
2 Tbsp. water

4 c. cooked white rice

Directions:

1. Make the sauce: whisk all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Combine soy sauce and brown sugar in a shallow dish or large Ziploc bag. Add beef, toss well, and marinate for at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour, stirring once. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine garlic, ginger, Hoisin sauce, orange zest, red pepper flakes, and 1 tsp. vegetable oil.

3. Drain beef and discard liquid. Heat 2 tsp. vegetable oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add beef and cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer beef to a clean bowl. Rinse skillet clean and dry with paper towels.

4. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil to skillet and heat until just smoking. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, about 3-5 minutes. Add snow peas and continue to cook until brown in spots, about 2 more minutes. Add 2 Tbsp. water and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Clear the center of the skillet, add the garlic mixture, and cook, mashing the mixture into the pan, until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Stir mixture into vegetables. Return beef and any accumulated juices to skillet and stir to combine. Whisk orange juice-soy sauce mixture and add to the skillet, stirring constantly about 30 seconds, until thickened. Serve over rice.

Serves 4.

Herbed Stuffed Zucchini

What would you call these? Zucchini boats? Zucchini blades? Zucchini toboggans? Every time I make this herbed stuffed zucchini, I want to give it some cute, descriptive name that makes my kids more inclined to eat it. Not that my kids are very picky, I just think a dinner with such a unique shape deserves some fun imagery to go along with it. Often, the foods we eat for dinner come to us with no particular shape, kind of blobby. Don’t get me wrong, some of my favorite foods are blobby. Like mac and cheese, or soup, or ice cream. Blob, blob, blob. As a matter of fact,

There, I said it. Don’t tell my husband.

But, that being said,

I guess basically what I’m saying here is

Like you didn’t know that already.

These uniquely shaped zucchini skis combine savory herbs with ground beef on top of the tender-crisp crunch of the squash underneath. A sprinkle of Parmesan completes the taste profile for a delicious homemade dinner any night of the week. Round it out with a side of potatoes (garlic herb potato wedges, perhaps?) and you’re good to go.

Herbed Stuffed Zucchini
A Love Letter to Food Original

Ingredients:

4 zucchini
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic
3/4 lb. ground beef
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped fine
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped fine
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 c. fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scrape out the inside, leaving about a 1/2 inch of flesh on the zucchini skin. Reserve 1 c. of the inner part of the zucchini you just scraped out and chop into 1/2 inch chunks. Set aside.

3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, then add the reserved 1 c. of zucchini chunks and cook another 3-4 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 7-10 minutes. Sprinkle in fresh rosemary and thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook and stir 1 additional minute to incorporate. Drain beef mixture if liquid is present.

4. Place zucchini halves on a greased baking sheet and stuff with ground beef mixture. (If you have extra of the beef mixture, you can either cook it alongside the zucchini or save it for another use, like shepherd’s pie.) Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes.

5. Sprinkle with fresh Parmesan.

Serves 4.