Ingredients:
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt ( such as Lawry’s)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 bunch green onions, chopped, white and green parts
4 carrots, washed, peeled
1 lb flank steaks, trimmed of any visible fat, partially frozen
1 teaspoon sesame oil
4 -6 cups steamed white jasmine rice or 4 -6 cups long grain rice, to accompany each portion
additional sesame seeds, to garnish
Directions:
Mix marinade ingredients and set aside.
Set aside a small portion of the chopped scallions for garnish and add remainder to the marinade.
Set meat onto a cutting board- it is usually an almost rectangular shape, with two shorter sides and two longer sides- position the meat so the”longer” sides are on the top and bottom, and the”short” sides are left and right.
Take note of the sinewy lines running straight along the”long” side of the meat- those are the grain lines.
Take a large chef’s knife and cut a very, very thin slice of meat off of the short end, as you do so you should be cutting through the grain lines (top to bottom) as if you were making a line through a grid or a tic-tac toe board- this should result in thin, short strips of meat (cutting through the sinewy lines this way will produce tender meat). Cut all of the meat into these thin, short strips and add them all to the marinade.
Take a vegetable peeler and peel carrots (discard peels)- then using the veggie peeler, continue to”peel” off strips of the carrot meat until the carrots are all cut into long, wide thin strips- add to marinade and seal container and flip over a few times to make sure everything is coated.
Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Drain meat& carrot strips,reserving the marinade into a small saucepan (don’t worry is some of the green onions end up in the meat or the marinade- they will all get cooked eventually).
Heat 1 tsp sesame oil in a large wok or large, deep skillet over medium-high heat.
Stir fry half of the meat strips until just cooked through (maybe 5 minutes or so)- there may still be a little pink remaining- immediately remove to a covered dish to keep warm, then stir fry remaining beef (about another 5 minutes or so) and remove it to the same covered dish.
(Don’t try to cook this all together or you will steam the meat and it will get too watery).
Add the marinade to the empty pan and bring to a boil,once it boils, let boil rapidly for 3 minutes to reduce sauce and kill off any bacteria.
While it is reducing, portion out 1 cup cooked rice per serving (see TIP below) and divide meat& carrots among each plate.
Drizzle reduced marinade over rice and meat and garnish with reserved raw green onion slices and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
TIP: I use a small custard cup or even a 1 cup measuring scoop to form the rice into decorative portions-if you press the freshly cooked Jasmine rice (which is slightly sticky) into the bowl to fill it tightly, then flip it over onto the plate, when you remove the bowl, the rice will have taken the shape of the cup.
Servings: 4-6
Time preparation: 30 min.
Time total: 45 min.