Mongolian Beef

Nothing satisfies my hunger more than Asian food. And when I am looking to get my fix the combination of salty, sweet and spicy is usually what I am after. Usually I turn to either pork or chicken when deciding what to have as the main protein but recently, instead of the usual, I decided to go with beef and I think I may have a new favorite … Mongolian beef!

To get started you will need to gather the following ingredients …

• 2 lbs. beef sirloin, sliced thin
• 2 scallions, cut in 1-inch pieces
• 2 T. fresh ginger, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Serrano chile, sliced thin
• 1 T. corn starch
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 3 T. water
• 1 T. rice wine
• 2 T. Hoisin sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 t. sesame oil
• 2 T. brown sugar
• salt & pepper

First combine the corn starch, soy sauce, water and rice wine to make the marinade. Add the beef and let it sit for 30 minutes. While the beef marinates, combine the Hoisin, soy sauce, sesame oil and brown sugar for the sauce.

After the meat has marinated, heat a wok with 1 T. oil over medium high heat until the oil just starts to smoke. Add the beef and stir-fry until it is half cooked. Remove the beef and set aside. Heat up another tablespoon of oil and saute the garlic and ginger until aromatic. Add the beef back into the wok and then the sauce mixture. Continue to stir-fry until the beef slices are almost done, then add the scallions and peppers into the wok. Do a few quick stirs, add salt and pepper to taste, dish out and serve hot with some white rice and steamed vegetables. Enjoy.

Joshua Auerhammer is chef/owner of Culinary Design Studio in Bigfork.