Because, of course, I get all my most authentic Asian recipes from the nice folk at Betty Crocker, courtesy of my husband’s email; I thought that this slow cooker recipe for Mongolian Beef – by way of Taiwan Barbecue, according to the B.C. folk – was just the thing to try for dinner.
And you know what?
Authentic or not – and, let us be real here – I also adapted the original recipe – this made for a pretty tasty, Asian-ish barbecue dinner.
One note: the nice folk at Betty Crocker say, pretty emphatically, not to skip the browning of the meat step, because it adds so much to the flavor. If you are concerned about gluten, by all means use almond flour or your preferred breading substitute. I already have you covered by calling for Tamari instead of soy sauce, so this should all be easy-peasy to go gluten-free.
INGREDIENTS
•1/2 cup lower sodium Tamari
•1/2 cup packed brown sugar
•1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
•1 tbsp ginger, peeled and finely chopped
•4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
•3 lb beef stew meat
•1/3 cup flour
•4 tbsp canola oil
•1 cup beef stock
•2 tbsp ketchup
•1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
•1/4 tsp dried orange peel
•1 red pepper, sliced thin
•3 stalks celery, chopped
•2 tsp rice vinegar
•Scallions, thinly sliced
Toss your stew beef in the flour to coat then, heat two tablespoons of the canola oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
Add half of the beef – you do not want to crowd the pan – and cook for three minutes, until browned on one side, then turn over and cook for another three to four minutes.
Transfer the browned beef to a plate and repeat with the remaining two tablespoons of canola oil and stew beef.
When the beef has been nicely browned and removed to a plate, deglaze the hot pan with the beef stock, scraping up any tasty browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Apply cooking spray to your slow cooker, then stir in the Tamari, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic.
Stir in the beef stock and pan scrapings, along with the crushed red pepper, dried orange peel, and ketchup, then add the beef.
Cover and cook on low for eight to ten hours, until the beef is tender and the sauce has thickened a bit.
Stir in the rice vinegar, red pepper strips, and the celery and cook for another 30 minutes or so.
You could, of course, serve now over rice, but I chose to stir in some sliced Blanched Asparagus I had in the fridge, and cooked for another 30 minutes.
Now, you can serve over rice, with sliced scallions scattered over the top.
Very good, but, if you have the time, go ahead and make this ahead and reheat, because as is almost always the case with a dish like this, it was even tastier the next day.
Go figure.