Beartso's Homemade
Cumin Beef
INGREDIENTS for 2 large servings
Meat department
Beef, sliced or fajita strips - 1 lb
Produce department
Ginger, 1/4" thick slices - 5
Red pepper, fresh - 2, cross slice (or dried - 2)
Onion, medium - 1/2, julienned
Green onion - 4, cut to 2" pieces, separate the "white" and the "green"
Spice rack
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Cumin, ground - 1 + 3 tbsp
Condiments aisle
Olive oil - 1 + 2 tbsp
International aisle
Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
Specialty item
Michiu (Taiwanese "Honbiou" cooking rice wine) - 1 tsp + 3 tbsp
DIRECTIONS
Marinade the beef for 30 mins or longer. For thicker pieces like fajita strips, marinade 1 day in advance for the best result.
Marinade:
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Cumin, ground - 1 tbsp
Michiu - 1 tsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
In a sauté or frying pan, heat a little olive oil (1/2 tbsp) over high heat. Sauté the beef until medium done. Strain out and discard the liquid and set the cooked beef aside.
In the same pan, heat olive oil (2 tbsp) over medium heat. Add ginger slices and cook until the edges are brown. Add fresh red pepper slices or dried whole red pepper (2). Sauté until fragrant.
Change the heat to high. Stir in the julienned onion and the white part of the green onions. Keep stirring and cook until both are soft.
Add the beef back in the pan, followed by soy sauce (2 tbsp) and cumin powder (3 tbsp). Stir everything together.
As the sauce boils, add michiu (3 tbsp). Adjust the heat as needed to keep the liquid at a light boil to cooked off the alcohol and reduce the sauce.
Turn off the heat and add the green part of the green onion. Stir well. The residual heat should be enough to draw out additional fragrance and flavor.
Serve with rice or as a shared dish.
NOM NOM CHOMP!
NOTES
The same dish is often made with lamb also.