Garlic Ginger Steak Stir Fry
This garlic ginger steak stir fry is one of my favorites – it’s got a delicious Asian-inspired flavor profile, and it’s perfect for busy weeknights. Give it a try!
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
- 2½ pounds flank or flat iron steak cut into ¼ inch thin strips
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 cup snow peas
- 1-2 baby bok choy bunches
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon sambal
- ¼ cup beef or chicken broth
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- 1-2 inch piece of ginger peeled and minced
- green onions thinly sliced (optional)
- fresh parsley finely chopped (optional)
- Rice to serve
Instructions
- Season the Strips of steak with salt and pepper.
- In a medium sized bowl mix together soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch until combined. Add in steak and toss until all of the meat is evenly coated with the marinade. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet (or wok) over high heat. Once oil is smoking add steak in small batches at a time to avoid crowding. Cook the steak until slightly crispy (about 2-3 minutes per batch) stirring frequently then remove from pan. Once all steak is cooked allow the pan to cool.
- Add in the broth, butter, garlic, ginger, and sambal over medium heat bringing the garlic butter sauce to a simmer. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until garlic and ginger are fragrant. Add in bok choy and snow peas and cook for 2 minutes. Return steak to pan and toss everything together along with green onions and fresh parsley. Serve warm warm as is or over steamed rice.
Notes
- Freeze the steak for an hour before slicing. A semi-frozen steak slices into uniform paper-thin ribbons. Soft steak shreds and tears no matter how sharp your knife is.
- Always slice against the grain. Look for the parallel muscle fibers and cut perpendicular to them. This single move turns a tough cut into a tender bite.
- Coat in cornstarch right before cooking, not in advance. Cornstarch holds onto moisture if it sits, which steams the meat. Toss, then straight into the pan.
- Get the pan smoking before the steak goes in. "Hot" is not enough. You want visible wisps of smoke off the oil. Anything less and you're braising, not searing.
- Cook in batches no bigger than a single layer. Crowding drops the pan temp 100°F instantly. Sear in two or three rounds, even if it feels slow.
- Don't stir the meat for the first 60 seconds. Let it form a crust, then toss for the final minute. That's where the crispiness comes from.
- Build the sauce in the same pan you seared in. Those browned bits at the bottom (the fond) are flavor gold. Hit them with broth and scrape.
- Add the garlic and ginger off the direct heat. Drop the burner to medium when they go in. Both burn in seconds and turn bitter.
- Finish with butter at the end, not the beginning. Cold butter stirred into a hot sauce off the heat creates that glossy, restaurant-style coating.
- Toss the veggies in last for 90 seconds, max. Snow peas and bok choy should still squeak when you bite them. Past two minutes they go limp.
Nutrition
Calories: 459kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 1119mg | Potassium: 666mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1255IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 5mg