Ginger & Shallot Beef with Broccoli

During my 2 years stint as a waitress in a small noodle bar in my university days,  I’ve learned 2 valuable lessons:-

(1) Food industry is a tough business. Not only the food has to be exceptionally good to stay ahead in this competitive market, you have to be a good manager, juggling between  pricing and staffing etc. Basically it’s a one man (woman) show, like blogging, but just a hundred times’ tougher! So think twice before venturing into food biz.

(2) How to make a decent stir fry.  Although I wasn’t officially taught by the chef but from bits and pieces of observation I gathered, I’m pretty confident in dishing out stir-frys when I’m in need of  no fuss and last minute entertaining idea.

Ginger and shallot stir fry is the house specialty in the noodle bar where I used to work and it’s amazing how versatile this stir fry can be – you can replace beef with chicken or seafood; broccoli with  asparagus or snow peas or sugar snap.  So why not add this to your long list of stir-fry repertoire, in addition to your sweet and sour or black bean stir-frys!

Ginger & Shallot Beef with Broccoli

(A Fuss Free Cooking Recipe)

Serves 2

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

300g broccoli (one broccoli)
400g steak (I’ve used rump steak)
2.5 inches ginger
3 shallots (aka scallions or spring onions)
2 tbsps cooking oil

Steak Marinade:

2 tbsps light soy sauce
A pinch of salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp white vinegar

Stir Fry Sauce:

1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 drops sesame oil
3 tbsps water
1/2 tbsp corn flour (aka cornstarch)

 Method:

Cut broccoli into florets.

Cook broccoli in SALTED water for 1/2 minute. Drain and set aside. 

 Slice shallots diagonally.

Skin and slice ginger into thin strips (like the photo below). The finer the better! (…which I haven’t done a good job, obviously). 

{Sauce mixture}