Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

I have to confess that it took me a while to get my stir fry dishes to taste the way I thought that they should taste. I think part of  my problem was that I under seasoned the dish and that I had a reluctance to use some of the prepared sauces -- such as hoisin, oyster or teriyaki -- that are readily available in the grocery stores. These items allow you to get some almost authentic taste without purchasing a bunch of different spices that you'll only use now and then. Another revelation for me has been purchasing and using fresh ginger. You can freeze a "knob" of ginger, which means it will last a really long time. By freezing it, I've got it on hand when I need it. Fresh ginger makes the same fantastic difference in a dish that fresh garlic does, as opposed to using garlic powder. It is, however, spicier than you think, so proceed with caution. Use a  microplane grater for grating the ginger --you'll achieve better results than with a box grater. You must peel off the tough outer layer before you begin to grate it and you'll need a really sharp knife to do that. You can also mince it, but be sure to mince it very finely.

This beef and broccoli stir fry hits the spot on a cold winter night. It evolved simply from what I had on hand in my freezer and pantry. It's pretty quick and easy, and delicious. Skip the take-out this week and try my tasty Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry! The key to successful stir frying is to do the prep work in advance. Once you begin to actually cook, it will take very  little time. Since rice takes longer -- especially if you use brown rice -- start that first, 30 minutes or so before you begin to stir fry. I like to add a cube of bouillon to the water and use that in place of salt in the rice, but either way works fine. You can also serve this over rice noodles if you prefer.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
serves 4

For the stir fry: 
3/4 lb. lean sirloin or tenderloin tips, cut into bite size pieces  
1/2 tsp. Chinese 5 Spice Blend (always at my grocery store) aka "Pae-Lo" Powder                               1 T. soy sauce
2 cups broccoli florets, fresh or frozen (if frozen, rinse them and let them thaw a little bit)
1 medium onion, halved and sliced (no need to be too thin)
1/4 c. carrot cut into match sticks or shaved with a vegetable slicer
2 tsp.  minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
1 - 2  tsp. grated fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp. ginger powder)
1 c. quartered (if very large) or halved mushrooms (shiitake if you can find them, otherwise use button or baby bellas)
1 small can sliced water chestnuts, optional
Peanut oil for frying

For the sauce:
1 cube beef bouillon
3/4 c, water
2 T. hoisin sauce
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. sriracha sauce
2 tsp. seasoned rice wine vinegar
1T. teriyaki sauce
pinch of salt
a pinch of dried red pepper flakes (if you like a little heat)
1 heaping T. corn starch

2 cups rice for serving ( I used a 1/2 brown 1/2 white rice mixture)

Cut your beef into bite sized pieces and lay them on a paper towel to dry. This will help with the searing.   While the beef is drying off, prepare your vegetables, ginger and garlic.

Drying the beef.

Veggie prep.

Get out your wok or a big, heavy frying pan and preheat it on medium high heat. You want the pan to be HOT. Prepare your ingredients in advance, this goes quickly!

Get the sauce ready before you begin. Heat the water and dissolve the bouillon cube in it. Add all the remaining ingredients -- except for the corn starch! -- and stir well to combine.

Big ol' wok with beef and onions.

Pour enough peanut oil to coat the bottom of the pan's' surface in a thin layer. When the oil begins to shimmer, you are ready to begin the stir fry. Add the beef to the skillet in a single layer. Sprinkle the beef with the 5 Spice Blend. Let the beef sear before you begin to move it around in the pan. This happens pretty quickly so be ready with a long spoon to stir with.  I always wear an apron when stir frying. The oil is hot and it will splatter! When the beef is light brown all over, add the onions.

When the onions start to turn gold and soften, add the soy sauce and then the broccoli, carrots and garlic. Continue to stir for about 3 minutes, then add the mushrooms. Be careful not to break them up -- that's why I recommend quartering or halving them as opposed to slicing them. Lastly, add the water chestnuts, if using. They add a nice crunch!

Ready for the sauce.

Now it's time to add the sauce. Stir the corn starch into the sauce right before you pour it over the stir fry in the skillet. Make sure all of the corn starch is dissolved. Mix the sauce gently in the skillet and turn the heat down once it begins to bubble. Cover the pan -- I have an extra large lid, but a sheet of aluminum foil will work fine. Let everything cook together about 5 minutes -- or until the vegetables are as soft as YOU like them. Serve over rice  (or rice noodles if you prefer).

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry, close up.
This batch didn't have water chestnuts in it, simply because there weren't any in the pantry! 

Baking Adventures in the New Year!

Happy New Year! I've take quite a break from blogging -- no blogging since March, 2015! There's no particular reason, simply a lack of inspiration. I've blogged lots of recipes for many years, and sometimes I struggle to think of something new to cook and therefore, worth blogging about. Life, too, gets in the way.

In the new year, I've felt compelled to improve my baking skills. I've always made cookies, and pretty good ones, but I came late to real baking. My first bread machine, given to me around 1990, was almost an epiphany -- I could actually make yeast bread that tasted great and didn't take the whole day to make. ( See my classic dinner roll recipe HERE)  I wore that machine completely out. I am now on my second machine and use it only on the dough setting. I've also purchased a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and it's expanded my baking even further. In the last few weeks, I've made buttermilk biscuits to go with our holiday Smithfield Ham and delicious  white sandwich bread for toasting and munching! It has a wonderful texture you simply can't find in store bought bread. More on that later!  One thing that I always wanted to make from scratch has been Cinnamon Rolls.

Even if you use a bread machine to do the kneading, there are still several steps you must go through to turn out these wonderful, tender, flaky and tasty treats. I opted to make the rolls the afternoon before and bake them off the next morning. That way my kitchen wasn't trashed first thing in the morning and I didn't have to roll out of bed and start the dough! Here's the recipe I used -- I found it on the internet at food.com  and changed it only slightly-- and some advice and pictures, should you feel like you might be ready to up your baking game!

Cinnamon Rolls 
makes 12 full sized rolls 

For the Dough:
1 cup warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 c. melted butter
4 1/2 c. bread flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. bread machine yeast (or one pkg.)

Filling:
1 c, packed brown sugar
2 1/2  Tablespoons cinnamon
1/3 c. butter, softened
1 pinch kosher salt

Frosting:
3 oz. light cream cheese
1/4 c. softened butter
2 1/2 sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract (only real extract, please)
1 pinch kosher salt

First, add your dough ingredients to your bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. In most cases, that means the wet go in first, (warm milk, eggs, melted butter) and the dry go in starting with the flour, sugar, salt and yeast on top. Process mixture on the dough cycle. While the dough is working, clean off your counter and measure out a space of approx. 16X24". That's how big you need to roll your dough. Use plenty of flour! You don't want to do all this work and have the dough stick to the counter! I did this by making a flour rectangle directly on my granite island, like this:

I used a yard stick to measure and to square up the rectangle. I am challenged by measuring spaces accurately, so this was an important step for me. You may be able to "wing" it but I can't.

Turn the dough out onto your floured area and punch it down. It should resemble this:

Next roll it out evenly into a 16X24" rectangle. Make sure both the dough and the rolling pin are well floured. Here's what you should end up with:

Spread your filling mixture evenly over the rolled out dough. Leave about 1/2" around 3 of the edges, leaving none around the long side closet to you where you'll start to roll the dough up into a cylinder:

It will look like a lot of filling while you are rolling it, but don't worry about that. Make sure you roll the dough up as tightly as you can, and you ease it up off the counter as you roll, trying your best not to tear it!





When you've got it all rolled up, straighten the cylinder and cut off the ends to "square it up" so the your rolls are neat with clean edges. Cut the cylinder in half, then cut each half in half again, then each of those sections into 3 pieces, so you get 12 rolls total. Place the rolls cut side up into a well buttered 13X9" baking dish.

At this point you can cover the rolls with some plastic wrap and refrigerate them to bake off the  next day (that's what I did) OR you can cover them loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let them rise for about 30 minutes until they are almost doubled in size. Either way, you need to preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. If you've refrigerated them overnight, let them come up to room temperature, bu leaving them out on the counter for 30 minutes before baking. Bake them for 14 - 16 minutes. While they are baking, beat together the frosting ingredients. I used my small hand mixer. Let the rolls cool for 10 minutes before icing them This recipe  makes a GENEROUS amount of frosting! Don't be shocked at how much it is!

And remember those little ends I cut off to square off the dough? Here's what I did:

I made 4 little mini-rolls as a  cooks treat! They weren't as pretty as the other ones in the big pan, but hey, it's all about the taste, right?  I was taking the big pan of 12 to a brunch, but left these home with  my hub, and boy, he was one happy camper!


 

                    A little bacon, a big cup of coffee and a newspaper! I am not sure he noticed I was gone...