Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Squid Cooks: Stir-Fried Beef with Basil and Chiles

As cooking goes, stir-fries are in my wheelhouse.  I can't say I learned too much about cooking growing up - nor can I say I pursued the discipline with deliberate intent - but my parents did teach me how to make a stir-fry.  Timing is everything and beef is especially forgiving because it doesn't matter if it's a little underdone.  My recipe for this dish came from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything: The Basics.

One thing that's new for me with this recipe, though, is making my own sauce.  In the past, I've always used pre-bottled.  Just as with the meat, timing - in effect, when to add what - is the key.  The recipe suggests but does not require a 30 minute marinade.  I skipped it because I was hungry.  I'll try that next time - of course, I think I may have said the same thing the last time I made it.

The reviews were solid.  Daughter ate it, happily.  She didn't have seconds but I did.  The heat was mild.  Good leftovers for the next day's lunch, too - an important consideration in family meal planning.

8 comments:

  1. I've never found that short marinades like that have any real flavor differentiation with the length of time allowed. Two minutes, thirty minutes, it's all the same.

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    1. I still feel like I'm cheating a little by skipping it. We'll see, though, if I care enough to plan ahead better next time.

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  2. I think marinades can help, especially when you massage the sliced meat in the bowl with it . When I make Be Bim Bop it is really important.
    Love leftovers especially for breakfast.

    cheers, parsnip and mandibles

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    1. If I am ever to get more serious about cooking, I will definitely need to learn to make better use of marinades.

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  3. Congratulations on the sauce making - I always feel liberated being able to make stuff. Love marinades, but can relate to hunger changing plans :-)

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