Friday, May 4, 2012

Thai Inspired Beef and Noodle Stir-fry

Over the years, my Mom has done a lot (and I mean a lot) of world travelling for work. While these days her flights are headed to either Fairfax or Moncton, in the past 5 or 6 years she's been to Texas, Florida, Calgary, Budapest, South America and Thailand! Luckily, she's a big fan of all sorts of worldly flavours, especially the unforgettable combination of sweet, sour, and pungent elements in Thai food.


While I can't send her off to Thailand on vacation, nor bring the beauty of the country and it's people here, I did get the opportunity from a fellow blogger and good friend of mine via the wonderful people at Thomas Allen and Storey Publishing to approximate the flavours of the exotic land in my own kitchen! Back in 2008, Carla from Chocolate Moosey was published thrice in The Healthy College Cookbook (which I coincidentally reviewed a few days ago). I had the pleasure of trying all three of her inclusions (Peanut Butter Oatmeal, Chicken Curry and today's Thai Beef) and I must say they were gems! For more info on the book and my experiences with it click on over to Reading, Writing and Cooking - and stay tuned for my version of the curry on here! 



Admittedly, this is not Carla's recipe as it was written, either on her blog originally or in the cookbook. A combination of our fridge's overburdened vegetable crisper and a lack of the pasta called for turned a relatively basic beef, onion and pepper stir fry into a sautee pan packed full of carrots, green onions, mushrooms, peppers, snow peas and brown rice stick noodles. The goat feta added a piquant and unusual, yet completely complementary accent at the end and Mom gave it her seal of approval both right out of the pan and a few days later after reheating it for lunch!


Thai Inspired Beef and Noodle Stir-fry
Adapted from, with many, many (many!) thanks, Carla.
Serves 2 very hungry or 3 normal people
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
3 tbsp tamari
3 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp curry powder
6 oz round steak
2 oz brown rice stick noodles
1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 large sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large carrot, julienned
6 oz baby carrots, julienned
4 button mushrooms
1 orange bell pepper, julienne
5 1/4 oz snow peas
1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup (2 oz) crumbled goat feta
2 green onions, minced
  1. In a small cup or bowl, mix together the lime juice, tamari, oil, sugar, garlic powder, ginger and curry powder. Set aside.
  2. With a sharp knife, thinly slice the steak against the grain of the meat into strips and place in a large Ziploc bag.
  3. Pour in half the marinade, placing the other half in a sealed container for later.
  4. Seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible and squish the meat around to thoroughly immerse in the marinade.
  5. Place in the fridge overnight.
  6. An hour before you're ready to cook and serve, bring meat out and allow to come to room temperature.
  7. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the rice sticks. Cook for 3 minutes, then drain, rinse with cold water, and toss with sesame oil.
  8. Heat a deep, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
  9. Add the beef and remaining marinade in the bag and cook until done, about 3-5 minutes. Remove to a plate.
  10. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, garlic and carrots. Cook, stirring often, until the carrots are beginning to soften.
  11. Add the reserved marinade, mushrooms, bell pepper, snow peas and sesame seeds and cook until the vegetables are softened to your liking.
  12. Add the noodles and the cooked beef and toss well to combine.
  13. Add the feta and green onions and toss well, then serve.
Amount Per Serving

Calories: 595.4
Total Fat: 32.7 g
Cholesterol: 35.4 mg
Sodium: 1,148.1 mg
Total Carbs: 57.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 8.4 g
Protein: 26.7 g

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