Beef with Snow Peas

I have had my eye on this recipe for quite sometime over at The Pioneer Woman's website.  

I finally got the ingredients to make it and WOW do I have to rave about it!   It is absolutely incredibly DELICIOUS!  That woman can cook!! 

If you have ever had and enjoyed the beef and broccoli at PF Chang's, this is 1000 times better!  Plus, you can control the sodium and ingredients that go into it!

Tender and flavorful beef, crispy snow peas....YUM, YUM, YUM!!!

I loved it.  I want to eat it every day!! I did make a few minor changes to the recipe, but nothing drastic.

The best part?  Not only does it taste good but dinner will be on the table in say 20 minutes! It is super fast!

This photo does this dish no justice, but I went to where my hubby was working and we ate together, so it was the best I could do for that situation!

This is flank steak.  It is fairly thin and quite lean.  I halved the recipe so I bought 3/4 lb. of it.  Under $5 so not too bad!

Using a sharp knife trim off any visible fat, and then slice in the direction opposite that the grain of the meat is going.  Slice as thin as you can get it!

The marinade calls for ginger.  This is what ginger looks like, minus the frost on mine!  I buy a piece of it like this and keep it in the freezer in a freezer bag.  I recommend peeling it before freezing it though.  I didn't do it this particular time and takes a few extra minutes.  Peel it, then grate what you need.  I use the fine grater.  It grates very easily in a frozen state!

The marinade consists of soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, cornstarch, and fresh ginger.  I didn't have sherry so I used rice vinegar, and I also added  1 large clove of minced garlic.  It smelled wonderful!

Add the meat to marinade and stir it up! I mixed mine up ahead of time and put it in the frig.  It sat in there for about 1 1/2 hours.

The snow peas.  Oh how I love snow peas!  I just trimmed the ends off.

In a hot pan or wok, saute peas in oil (I used expeller-pressed Canola oil) for 45 seconds.  No longer! You want them fresh and crunchy!  Remove from pan and set aside.

To the pan add half of the beef and sliced green onion.  Set in pan and leave beef alone without stirring for 1 full minute (I set a timer).  Then stir it around for 30 more seconds.  Remove from pan and repeat with rest of beef and onion.

Return all beef, snow peas, and remaining marinade left in bowl to the hot pan.  Saute over high heat for 30 seconds or so.  Pile it up on top of some jasmine rice and sprinkle with crushed red pepper!  Prepare for your taste buds to be overwhelmed with joy!

BEEF WITH SNOW PEAS

• 1 1/2 lbs. flank steak, trimmed of fat and sliced thin against the grain
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 3 T. Sherry (I used Rice Vinegar)
• 2 T. brown sugar
• 2 T. cornstarch
• 1 T. minced fresh ginger
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 8 oz. fresh snow peas, ends trimmed
• 5 whole green onions, sliced thinly
• Salt as needed (Mine needed no salt!)
• 3 T. canola, peanut, or olive oil
• crushed red pepper for sprinkling
• Jasmine Rice, cooked according to package

In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, cornstarch, and ginger. Add sliced meat to bowl and toss with hands. Set aside.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet (iron is best) or wok over high heat. Add snow peas and stir for 45 seconds. Remove to a separate plate. Set aside.

Allow pan to get very hot again. With tongs, add half the meat mixture, leaving most of the marinade still in the bowl. Add half the scallions. Spread out meat as you add it to pan, but do not stir for a good minute. (You want the meat to get as brown as possible in as short amount a time as possible.) Turn meat to the other side and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove to a clean plate.

Repeat with other half of meat, allowing pan to get very hot again first. After turning it, add the first plateful of meat, the rest of the marinade, and the snow peas. Stir over high heat for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Check seasonings and add salt only if it needs it. Mixture will thicken as it sits.

Serve immediately over rice. Sprinkle crushed red pepper over the top to give it some spice.