Steak and Black Bean Stir Fry
The joy of losing power for 4 days is that everything in your refrigerator/freezer has to be replaced. Thankfully I have two freezers in the garage that I use for meat so the freezer inside the house did not have much. The items I did not want to lose (stocks and sauces) I was able to get moved to the garage freezers and since it was ohh…below zero I had no worries about spoilage in those freezers. However, this also forced me to clean up my fridge because over the years I have accumulated a ton of junk in there. This actually made me happy because it meant a lot of market trips and also fits into my new minimalist mindset of less clutter. I had to head to one store because they have the best olives, another store because they have awesome cottage cheese, and of course the Asian market.
While at the Asian market I decided it is time to replace my 10 year old wok that I never really liked but bought because it was cheap. So after talking to the guy I settled on this 14 inch wok that is heavy! Oh yeah the best part of the Asian market is everything is freaking dirt cheap so I picked up my soy sauce and other necessities for damn near 1/2 the grocery store and way better quality.
For the black bean sauce you will need:
- 2 TB fermented black beans
- 2 TB soy sauce
- 1 TB rice wine vinegar
For the steak you will need:
- Steak sliced (I used about 3/4 of a lb of flat iron steak)
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 chili diced
- thumb size piece of ginger diced
- 3 cloves of garlic diced
- 1/4 cup of cilantro
- dash of sesame seed oil
For the rest of the recipe you will need:
- 1 cup of cooked rice
- Dash of soy sauce
- 1 egg
- Cilantro for garnish
Combine both the steak and the black bean ingredients into separate bowls and set aside. I let the steak mixture sit for a good 30 minutes at room temperature so could come up to room temperature (remember always do this because it promotes even cooking).
In your trusty wok over medium-high add in a squirt of peanut oil (or any high temperature oil) and dump in the steak mixture. Move around for a couple minutes till the steak is browned all over.
Add in the black bean mixture and stir to coat. Let this cook till your steak is at its desired doneness.
Once the steak is done remove the mixture from the wok and set aside to rest. Crack an egg into the wok and stir basically making a scrambled egg, add in the cooked rice, and a dash of soy sauce so that all the beautiful stuck bits in the wok can be absorbed into the rice.
Serve and enjoy with using some cilantro as a garnish.
4 days? are you in new england? my heart went out to all those people who had lost power, some for 6 days!
I love going to the Asian markets to buy new kitchen gadgets–yes, they are so much cheaper than those expensive fancy schmancy stores.
This came out really good….I’m not a fan of black beans, but with this sauce I would be.
Seriously! Buying stuff in ethnic markets is sooo much less expensive than “regular” supermarkets!
Sorry about your power! What an adventure, I bet!
I just saw a chef kitchen in a kitchen design book that had a complete wok station! It was amazing! Huge heat, so he had to install special insulation, etc. But it was such a great idea.
Steak and black bean - a fantastic combo. Especially in texture.
Four days without power does not sound like fun. I really like fermented black bean sauces and this dish looks tasty!
no power for four days would be a nightmare for me. an absolute nightmare. you seem to have fared pretty well, so kudos to you. if i were in such a situation, i’d definitely turn to one of my favorite comfort-lending ingredients–black beans.
you must be really special to see something good in this, imagine, 4 days w/o power… anyway, the meal you created is just lovely…
Hearty and delicious. I could eat a bowl of this right now.
Well, at least your garage stayed cold! Your new wok looks great, could you take a picture of it more from the side? I’m curious (thinking I need a new wok too).
Oh that is just not right with the universe when that happens! But this meal is very nice…that sauce…yowzer.
I think when I make this (which I will) I will throw the rice in right after I take the steak out, cook it a little to heat it up, then throw the egg in, allowing the egg to cook from the heat of the rice. then finish it like fried rice. I find the idea of scrambled eggs mixed with rice unappetizing, which a lot of fried rice recipes call for….
Jeff, it looks delicious! How you went 4 days without power, is beyond me, but, I suppose with the temps around there being reminiscent of sub-Artcic category 1 weather, it’s a good thing you have freezers in your garage!
Poor Jeff…no power
Man up! Just kidding, this looks delicious!
Losing power just stinks. Great dinner. I just love the ethnic markets.