Here's a simple stirfry that is both delicious and unique in its taste. You don't normally find orange in stirfries, but in this dish it is the crucial magic ingredient--with the ginger playing a supporting role. Unlike the thick, 'earthy' solid taste of a salty beef stirfry, this version is lighter and more playful, since its appearance and its taste bear almost no relation, the sweetening influence of the orange invisible. Combining, the sweetening orange and ginger counter the salty-bitter distinctive taste of beef, and impart a slightly 'minty' feeling to the dish that prevents it from becoming over-savoury.
Being a historian, permit me to characterise my 'other' beef stirfry (which I will post up soon) as Romanesque in its...squatness and stability. This one is more Gothic in its light airiness, a taste just as encompassing as the Romanesque, but somehow managing to climb and raise the spirits. It smells fresher than the other one, too.
Here's the recipe for this very doable student dish--this version serves 2-3 if they just eat this solely with rice and nothing else. Being eminently refrigerable, simply double the quantity and you have enough to last you for several days' worth of food, depending on the size of your appetite. You can also substitute beef with pork, which would create a somewhat sweeter and lighter dish than the original beef.
Ingredients
450g lean rump, sirloin or fillet steak, sliced thinly.
Grated rind and juice of 1 orange.
15 ml light soy sauce, or to taste.
2 tbsp cornflour
2.5cm fresh ginger, skinned and finely chopped
10ml sesame oil
1 large carrot, cut into strips
2 spring onions (I used 4 in the picture as I love spring onions)
Instructions
1) Place the steak strips in a bowl and marinate it by mixing it well with the orange juice and rind. Leave it to marinate and soak in the taste of the orange for at least 30 mins. This is the magic step that will change the way it smells and tastes, which no one can divine just by looking at the dish--do not stint on the time taken to marinate it!
2) Drain the marinade from the steak and leave aside--you will need it later. Mix the steak together with the cornflour, soy sauce and chopped ginger. Don't be afraid to mix them together with your hands, the kneading action of your hand will mix it together well and even.
3) Heat oil in a preheated wok or large frying pan over medium high heat, then add the steak and stirfry for 1 minute until the surface of the beef becomes brown. Add the carrots and stirfry for a further 2-3 minutes.
4) Stir in the spring onions and the marinade, then cook, stirring constantly, until the gravy is boiling and has thickened.
5) Serve hot with rice (I suggest mixing several spoonfuls into the rice to flavour the rice with the gravy), or leave to cool down and put into a tupperware for refrigeration.
There! Easy.
