Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (67 page)
SERVES 4
To make slicing the flank steak easier, freeze it for 15 minutes. Serve with
SIMPLE WHITE RICE
.
SAUCE
¹⁄ | cup low-sodium chicken broth |
3 | tablespoons coconut milk |
2 | tablespoons light brown sugar |
1 | tablespoon lime juice |
1 | tablespoon fish sauce |
1 | teaspoon cornstarch |
BEEF STIR-FRY
2 | tablespoons soy sauce |
1 | teaspoon light brown sugar |
1 | (12-ounce) flank steak, trimmed and sliced thin across grain on slight bias |
3 | garlic cloves, minced |
1¹⁄ | teaspoons red curry paste |
2 | tablespoons vegetable oil |
1 | medium eggplant (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into ³⁄ |
2 | cups fresh basil leaves |
Lime wedges |
1. FOR THE SAUCE:
Whisk all ingredients together in small bowl and set aside.
2. FOR THE STIR-FRY:
Combine soy sauce and sugar in medium bowl. Add beef, toss well, and marinate for at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour, stirring once. Meanwhile, combine garlic, curry paste, and 1 teaspoon oil in small bowl.
3.
Drain beef and discard liquid. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of beef in single layer, break up any clumps, and cook, without stirring, for 1 minute. Stir beef and continue to cook until browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer beef to clean bowl. Repeat with 1 teaspoon oil and remaining beef. Rinse skillet clean and dry with paper towels.
4.
Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet and heat until just smoking. Add eggplant and cook, stirring frequently, until browned and no longer spongy, 5 to 7 minutes. Clear center of skillet, add garlic-curry mixture, and cook, mashing mixture into pan, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds. Stir mixture into eggplant. Return beef and any accumulated juices to skillet and stir to combine. Whisk sauce to recombine, add to skillet along with basil, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 30 seconds. Serve, passing lime wedges separately.
1.
Using sharp chef’s knife, slice partially frozen steak with grain into 2-inch-wide pieces.
2.
Cut each 2-inch piece of flank steak across grain on slight bias into very thin slices.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Order beef and broccoli in most Chinese restaurants, and you are served a pile of tough meat with overcooked army-issue broccoli all drenched in a thick-as-pudding brown sauce. We set out to rescue beef and broccoli. For the meat, we found that flank steak offered the biggest beefy taste and slicing it thin made it tender. We cooked the beef in two batches over high heat to make sure it browned and didn’t steam. Then we cooked the broccoli until crisp-tender using a combination of methods—sautéing and steaming—and added some red bell pepper for sweetness and color. For the sauce, oyster sauce, chicken broth, dry sherry, brown sugar, and sesame oil, lightly thickened with cornstarch made a sauce that clung to the beef and vegetables without being gloppy.
SERVES 4
To make slicing the flank steak easier, freeze it for 15 minutes. Serve with
SIMPLE WHITE RICE
.
SAUCE
5 | tablespoons oyster sauce |
2 | tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth |
1 | tablespoon dry sherry |
1 | tablespoon light brown sugar |
1 | teaspoon toasted sesame oil |
1 | teaspoon cornstarch |
BEEF STIR-FRY
1 | (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed and sliced thin across grain on slight bias ( |
3 | tablespoons soy sauce |
6 | garlic cloves, minced |
1 | tablespoon grated fresh ginger |
3 | tablespoons vegetable oil |
1¹⁄ | pounds broccoli, florets cut into bite-size pieces, stalks peeled and cut on bias into ¹⁄ |
¹⁄ | cup water |
1 | small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ¹⁄ |
3 | medium scallions, sliced ¹⁄ |
1. FOR THE SAUCE:
Whisk all ingredients together in small bowl and set aside.
2. FOR THE STIR-FRY:
Combine beef and soy sauce in medium bowl, toss to coat, and let marinate at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour, stirring once. Meanwhile, combine garlic, ginger, and 1¹⁄
2
teaspoons vegetable oil in small bowl.
3.
Drain beef and discard liquid. Heat 1¹⁄
2
teaspoons vegetable oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of beef in single layer, break up clumps, and cook, without stirring, for 1 minute. Stir beef and continue to cook until beef is browned, about 30 seconds. Transfer beef to medium bowl. Repeat with 1¹⁄
2
teaspoons vegetable oil and remaining beef.
4.
Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to skillet and heat until just smoking. Add broccoli and cook for 30 seconds. Add water to pan, cover, and lower heat to medium. Steam broccoli until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes, then transfer to paper towel–lined plate. Add remaining 1¹⁄
2
teaspoons vegetable oil to skillet, increase heat to high and heat until just smoking. Add bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until spotty brown, about 1¹⁄
2
minutes.
Clear center of skillet, add garlic mixture, and cook, mashing mixture into pan, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds, then stir mixture into peppers.
5.
Return beef and broccoli to skillet and toss to combine. Whisk sauce to recombine, then add to skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and evenly distributed, about 30 seconds. Transfer to platter, sprinkle with scallions, and serve.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Traditional Thai-style beef relies on obscure ingredients like galangal, palm sugar, and dried prawns and requires hours of prep plus deep-frying. We wanted to use easily available ingredients and require minimal cooking time. We settled on inexpensive blade steak, which offers beefy flavor and tenderness when fully cooked. With a marinade made of fish sauce, white pepper, coriander, and a little light brown sugar, the beef needed to marinate for only 15 minutes to develop full flavor. To add heat, we introduced an easily controlled heat source—Asian chili-garlic sauce—that also added toasty garlicky flavors.
SERVES 4
If you cannot find blade steaks, use flank steak. Because flank steak requires less trimming, you will need only about 1³⁄
4
pounds. To prepare the flank steak, first cut the steak with the grain into 1¹⁄
2
-inch-wide strips, then cut the strips against the grain into ¹⁄
4
-inch-thick slices. To make slicing the steak easier, freeze it for 15 minutes. White pepper lends this stir-fry a unique flavor; black pepper is not a good substitute. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
BEEF STIR-FRY
1 | tablespoon fish sauce |
1 | teaspoon light brown sugar |
³⁄ | teaspoon ground coriander |
¹⁄ | teaspoon ground white pepper |
2 | pounds blade steak, trimmed ( |
SAUCE AND GARNISH
2 | tablespoons fish sauce |
2 | tablespoons rice vinegar |
2 | tablespoons water |
1 | tablespoon light brown sugar |
1 | tablespoon Asian chili-garlic sauce |
3 | garlic cloves, minced |
3 | tablespoons vegetable oil |
3 | serrano or jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded, and sliced thin |
3 | shallots, peeled, quartered, and layers separated |
¹⁄ | cup fresh mint leaves, large leaves torn into bite-size pieces |
¹⁄ | cup fresh cilantro leaves |
¹⁄ | cup dry-roasted peanuts, chopped |
Lime wedges |
1. FOR THE STIR-FRY:
Combine fish sauce, sugar, coriander, and white pepper in large bowl. Add beef, toss well to combine; marinate 15 minutes.
2. FOR THE SAUCE AND GARNISH:
Stir together fish sauce, vinegar, water, sugar, and chili-garlic sauce in small bowl until sugar dissolves and set aside. In second small bowl, mix garlic and 1 teaspoon oil and set aside.
3.
To prepare stir-fry, heat 2 teaspoons oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add one-third of beef to skillet in even layer. Cook, without stirring, until well browned, about 2 minutes, then stir and continue cooking until beef is browned around edges and no longer pink in center, about 30 seconds. Transfer beef to medium bowl. Repeat with 2 teaspoons oil more and remaining meat in 2 more batches.
4.
Reduce heat to medium, add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to skillet and swirl to coat. Add chiles and shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Clear center of skillet, add garlic-oil, and cook, mashing mixture into pan, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds. Stir garlic into chile mixture. Add fish sauce mixture to skillet, increase heat to high, and cook until slightly reduced and thickened, about 30 seconds.
5.
Return beef and any accumulated juices to skillet and toss well to combine and coat with sauce. Stir in half of mint and cilantro. Serve immediately, sprinkling each serving with peanuts and remaining herbs, and passing lime wedges separately.
