Dish of Beef & Bok Choy
(click to enlarge)

Beef & Bok Choy


Japan
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2 main
***
45 min
Most		 A simple, easy to make but flavorful stir fry in the manner of Japanese home cooking. Quite similar to Chinese, but varies some in ingredients used in the marinade and sauce.

9
------
1/8
1
2
1
1
1/2
1
1/2
------
14
2
------
1
1
1/2
1/4
1
------
1-1/2
oz
---
in
cl

t
t
t
t
t
---
oz
oz
---
T
T
T
c
t
---
T
Beef lean (1)
-- Marinade
Ginger Root
Garlic
Scallions
Soy Sauce
Sake
Sesame Oil (2)
Potato Starch (3)  
Sugar (opt) (4)
---------
Bok Choy (5)
Mushrooms (6)
-- Sauce
Oyster Sauce
Sake
Soy Sauce
Water
Sugar (opt) (4)
---------
Oil
Prep   -   (30 min - 10 min work)
  1. Slice BEEF across the grain into bite size medallions about 1/8 inch thick.
  2. Slice GINGER very thin and chop fine. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Chop Scallions fine. Mix all Marinade Items and massage into the Beef. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes (or 3 times as long in the fridge).
  3. Tear or cut leaves from BOK CHOY into pieces about 1-1/2 inches on a side. Slice the stems about 1/2 inch wide and keep separate.
  4. Slice MUSHROOMS about 1/8 inch thick.
  5. Mix all Sauce Items.
RUN   -   (12 min)
  1. In a wok or spacious sauté pan heat Oil over high heat. Stir in Beef and fry stirring until it has completely lost its raw color and all exuded liquid has evaporated.
  2. Stir in Choy Stems and Mushrooms. Fry stirring about 2 minutes, then stir in Choy Leaves. Fry stirring another 2 minutes or until the stems are crisp tender.
  3. Stir in the Sauce Mix and cook stirring until it comes to a boil.
  4. Serve hot with plenty of steamed medium grain rice.
NOTES:

  1. Beef:

      Weight is for boneless with all excess fat removed. Cooking time is very short, so a reasonably tender cut is appropriate. Shoulder is fine as long as it's clear meat with very little membrane and no gristle.

  2. Sesame Oil:

      This should be the dark Asian sesame oil made from toasted seeds.

  3. Potato Starch:

      The pattern recipe called for katakuriko, but the lily this starch is made from is very slow growing, has been badly over-harvested, and starch from it's root is very expensive. The name has come to mean "potato starch".

  4. Sugar:

      I have given 1/2 the amount of sugar called for in the pattern recipe - but I actually leave it out entirely. Sugar is evil. On the other hand, the recipe tastes more Japanese with sugar - the Japanese are very big on sugar sweetened sauces.

  5. Bok Choy:

      I made this recipe with the very small white stemmed bok choy easily available here in Los Angeles. The pattern recipe used the green stemmed Shanghai bok choy (sold as "baby bok choy" in the markets). That would be a better choice if very small white stemmed bok choy is not available in your markets. With Shanghai bok choy it isn't so important to keep the stems and leaves separate. For details see our Asian Greens page.

  6. Mushrooms

      Regular white mushrooms are OK for this dish, but I prefer the small King Trumpet Oyster mushrooms now grown in volume here in California. They are typically 5 inches tall and about 1-1/4 inches in diameter, have very good texture, better flavor and can be kept in the refrigerator for weeks in their plastic bag. For details see our Oyster Mushrooms page.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
jmm_cowchoy1 120910 inet   -   www.clovegarden.com
©Andrew Grygus - agryg@aaxnet.com - Linking to and non-commercial use of this page is permitted.