Mongolian beef before the sugar rush
My family cannot get enough of Asian food, and any time I crank out a dish that announces itself with aromas of garlic, ginger and soy sauce, I pretty much know dinner will be a success.
That's why I'm earmarking this dish for Halloween, since getting something hearty in my boys' stomachs before the sugar-palooza is pretty much the extent of what I can control with teenagers.
This dish allows a wonderful glaze to coat the ultra-thin slices of steak. It reminds me of something you might get at an old-school Chinese restaurant.
Look for shaved beef steak: Napkin-thin slices of beef that can come from any part of the cow. It might be labeled "sandwich steak" (for sandwiches like Philly subs), shabu-shabu beef (for Japanese cooking, or possibly Chinese hotpot), Pho (used in the traditional Vietnamese soup) or braciole beef (from that classic Italian dish where it is wrapped around a filling, usually involving breadcrumbs and cheese). It's bulgogi in Korean markets. Rouladen in German butcheries. If you have a friendly butcher, ordering this cut of meat can generate some interesting conversation about the different ways to cook it.
But back to our Mongolian beef recipe. Mongolian beef can be made with different types of thinly sliced or small-cut meat, and if shaved beef isn't an option, place a piece of flank steak in the freezer until it's quite firm but not totally frozen and then thinly slice it across the grain. It will essentially defrost as you cut it.
Dusting the slices of beef in cornstarch before sauteing them allows them to brown nicely. Then, when the beef meets with sauce, the cornstarch not only helps thicken the sauce, but it also helps the sauce coat the beef deliciously.