Three great meals, part 1

The Stir Fry

  So having had rib eye for dinner last night, just rib eye, we felt a need for penance in the form of a hoard of veggies. So stir fry it is. I started soaking the rice, I've found that it actually is important to follow instructions when cooking rice. Soaking brown rice really helps break apart the tough husk and create a fluffy rice that is more similar to expectations we face from a white rice world. So we soak the rice before cooking it with some salt and butter.
  Once the rice has about 25 minutes to go you can start cooking everything else. It does help to have it already cut up at this point. The stir fry this time was to include ginger, eggplant, carrots, onions, bok choy, green onions, and red bell pepper.

Sesame Mint Stirfry Marinade

1 lb bottom round thinly sliced into strips

2 TBSP Sesame Oil

1 TBSP Sesame Seeds

3 Cloves of garlic (or more)

Juice of 1 lime

1 diced green onion

6-10 mint leaves

Garlic salt and pepper to taste

 

Stirfry

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp minced ginger

Fry in wok for about 5 min

 

1 lb marinated meat

Fry until sufficiently cooked then remove to a bowl on the side

2 carrots sliced thin

1/2 onion

Cook until the onions begin to soften (3-5 minutes)

3 baby bok choy chopped into 1 inch pieces

2 green onions split and chopped into 2 inch strips
10  Indian eggplant  sliced thin, or Chinese eggplant, or whatever

2 tbsp soy sauce

a sprinkle of fish sauce

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

Cook until the bok choy begins to fade (5-8 minutes)

1 red bell pepper in long thin slices
10 basil leaves

return the meat to the wok and stir all together on high heat for 1 minute

Sprinkle with sesame seeds

What I got looks like this:

Flavor analysis:

  The mint really wasn't worth it. It didn't lend much flavor, basil leaves would have been better in the marinade. However, the cheap meat could have been flank steak for how tender it was. Total success on breaking down the tough meat into something that was full of flavor and easy to chew. The sesame oil penetrated the meat well and gave it a good solid flavor. I'm still thinking of more ways to increase the sesame flavor beyond dumping more expensive sesame oil on top. All in all a good solid stir fry was enjoyed by all.