Beef and Celery Stir Fry

Sean, this one’s for you:

I found an old Chinese recipe book from my parents – copy right 1975 for the original edition and based on the hit tv series from BC, “Yan’s Woking.” Every ingredient has Gourmet Powder listed as an ingredient:

made from cereals in China. Salt-like in appearance, has the virtue of bringing out and accentuating the flabour of any food with which it is employed.

Good old MSG! You won’t find that in anything I make, highly allergic 🙁

This recipe is tasty and easy. It took about 15 minutes to make the whole dinner, including prepping the vegetables. I’ve included some alternate vegetables you can mix/match with:

• ½ lb (450g) of stir fry beef strips
• 1 Tbs lite soy (low sodium)
• 1 Tbs corn starch
• few drops of sesame oil
• ¼ tsp (pinch) of sugar
• 8-10 stalks celery, cut diagonally into bite size pieces
• 1 carrot, sliced diagonally into bite size pieces or shredded into long thin strips
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed and sliced
• 4 Tbs canola oil for cooking

1. Combine the starch, soy, sugar and sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add to the beef. Let set about 10 minutes.
2. On high heat, add 2 Tbs of the canola oil in a wok or skillet. Wait until wisps of smoke start to appear, then add the celery and carrots plus ¼ cup water. Stir to mix then cover with a lid and let cook for 3 minutes.
3. Remove the vegetables to  bowl and wipe down the wok with a paper towel. Heat on high and add the remaining canola oil. Wait until wisps of smoke start to appear, then add the garlic to brown for 1 minute. Then add the meat. Beware that it will stick to the bottom – don’t worry. Keep stirring until the colour of the meat changes.
4. Return the vegetables to the pan and mix to coat. Serve hot with rice noodles or plain sticky rice.

You can cut down on the amount of celery and/or add other vegetables that taste good with this recipe:

• snow peas, whole
• water chestnuts, cut in half
• bamboo shoots, cut into thin slices
• baby corn, whole
• cauliflower and/or broccoli, cut into bite site pieces
• green pepper, cut into small squares
• small crimini mushrooms, halved or whole
• green beans
• fresh asparagus, cut into halves

Brooke

My name is Brooke and I love to cook, hence the nickname. I am passionate about eating for pleasure and nutrition, making jam, and Pilates.