Spicy Beef with Peanuts & Chiles

This delicious beef stir-fry dish is everything I was hoping it would be! You get great flavor from the peanuts, soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice, and a nice kick from the chiles. Yumm!  

Changes I made to the recipe: I doubled the cilantro and omitted the basil, substituted red onion for the shallot, and substituted flatiron steak for the flank steak. Cut back on the chile if you don't like spicy food.

Serve the stir-fry with an Asian-inspired salad and steamed rice and you've got a great dinner in a flash!

Spicy Beef with Peanuts & Chiles

-recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

Serves four. 

1 lb. flank steak, thinly sliced on the diagonal against the grain

2 Tbs. soy sauce

2 tsp. fish sauce

1/4 tsp. kosher salt; more to taste

2 Tbs. fresh lime juice

1 Tbs. light brown sugar

1/4 cup salted peanuts

2 large shallots, coarsely chopped

2 Thai or serrano chiles, stemmed and coarsely chopped (don?t seed)

3 Tbs. canola or peanut oil

1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

3 Tbs. chopped fresh basil

Toss the steak with 1 Tbs. of the soy sauce, 1 tsp. of the fish sauce, and the salt. Combine the remaining 1 Tbs. soy sauce and 1 tsp. fish sauce with 1 Tbs. of the lime juice and the brown sugar and set aside.

Pulse the peanuts, shallots, and chiles in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a small bowl.

Set a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot, about 1 minute. Add 1-1/2 Tbs. of the oil and once it's shimmering, add the beef. Cook, stirring, until the beef just loses its raw appearance, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining 1-1/2 Tbs. oil and the shallot mixture, sprinkle with salt, and cook, stirring, until the shallots are soft, about 2 minutes.

Return the beef to the pan. Stir the soy mixture and add it, along with half of the cilantro and basil, and cook, stirring to let the flavors meld, 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and serve sprinkled with the remaining lime juice, cilantro, and basil.

From Fine Cooking, September 18, 2007

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