Hot Beef Stir Fry on a Cold Night

jfm0830 · November 2012

It was a cold and snowy night, but as you all know that doesn't phase the Egg one bit. For my second stir fry I picked Martin Yan's Ghengis Kahn Stir Fry from Breath of a Wok. The presence of 6 red Thai chilis insured this dish would not be subtle, but would be very spicy. This one was a very quick cook and I made it quicker by cooking this one at 600 vs 550 degrees for my first stir fry. I want to gradually increase the temperatures I'm working with. One thing I learned was you need to pull the wok off the heat a tad before the food is done because it keeps cooking for a while after you take it off the heat. It looked perfectly cooked when I pulled it off the heat, but by the time I got into the Kitchen it had darkened up a bit. It wasn't overcooked or burnt, but it was farther along than I intended. The flavor was amazing, while the initial impression when the food hit your tongue was an extreme spiciness, there were lots of subtle flavors in the sauce that came to the front after the initial wave of heat subsided. My wife loved this hot dish, which surprised me a bit. She made it less hot by setting aside any red Thai chilis that crossed her path.

The presence of six red Thai chilies meant this was not going to be a subtle dish. These are the kind of chilies that you should wear plastic glves when handling.

The ingredients this time around were: Vegetable oil, corn starch, thinly sliced garlic, black soy sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, chili sambal which is a spicy chili paste and flank steak.

The black soy sauce (which is sweet & thick), soy sauce and cornstarch are mixed together to act as a flavoring and marinade for the meat.

The flank steak has been cut into 1/2" cubes and has been tossed with the soy sauce marinade.

The Egg has been stabilized at 600 degrees, the wok is on it heating up and it is time to bring the ingredients out to the grill.

Everything is out at the preheated egg and it is time to begin.

Some veggie oil was swirled into the wok and has been joined by the marinated beef.

The beef was pulled just short of being finished and gets stored in a covered bowl until the end of the cook. The veggies are now being-stir fried. As an aside, I may have to buy a BGE gas mask since the fumes from the Thai chilies were overpowering to start.

The beef has been added back in to finish up.

The sauce was made by mixing the hoisin sauce, sesame oil & chili sambal sauce. It is the last ingredient to be added over the heat.

The food has been plated and garnished with the green portions of the scallions.

mmmmmm. Very spicy with lots of subtle flavors too.

So stir fry number 2 was excellent and I can't wait to find another recipe to try. I'm thinking I might start reading Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge so I can try s recipe from there.

Jim

Village Idiot · November 2012

OK, that does it ! You're a natural. Even your wok looks well seasoned.

Like I did with Pasquali Luciano (Doc Eggerton) because of his pizza cooking, I'm going to call you by a Chinese name.

Kim Yoo Suk came to mind, but after doing a little research, I decided I have to think of another name.

jfm0830 · November 2012

Thanks VI. Coming from you that is a great, although I think as of yet undeserved, compliment. I've always been good at following directions and have also had good luck. The first time I went fishing when I was 14, three experienced fishermen took me out and I was the only one who caught anything that day. I kept telling them they were good teachers cause I was afraid they might toss me off the boat. As for a name how about Wok Kan Doo? Seriously though, I still have lots to learn, and am having a ball doing it. I am grateful for you getting me headed in the right direction.

Jim

Zick · November 2012

Jim, brilliant! Your food always looks,great. Details,and photos are amazing. Thanks for sharing! I am going to buy my wok this weekend. You have inspired me! Well dne my friend.

Richard Fl · November 2012

Great looking cook. As far as the chile gas mask is concerned. NEVER pour a chile oil into a hot wok first as it will flash and give you some serious eye irritations. I found out the hard way many years ago.

jfm0830 · November 2012

Thanks Zick & Richard Fl!

Thanks for the tip @Richard_Fl, I will keep it in mind. I actually was wearing a long glove for most of this one. When I poured the marinated beef into the wok, something in the marinade (black soy sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil) flared up big time. Just when my arm hairs were growing back after my last BGE flashback too. The Thai chiles are what were giving off some powerful gasses. I am curious though, how would you get the chili oil into the dish? Or is it a case where the recipe just shouldn't even call for you to do that?

Dyal_SC · November 2012

Ooooh... This looks good. =P~ Looove me some Thai food.

Griffin · November 2012

Looks great, Jim. I musta missed your first stir fry, I'll have to go back and look for it.

One thing I like to do, when I remember, is have a large bowl/platter sitting by and when its done, pull the wok off the grill and pour it directly into the bowl/platter before going inside. Maybe that might help you from it going along further than you planned?

Are you enjoying Breath of a Wok? I'd like to get that book some day.

Richard Fl · November 2012

jfm0830 said:

Thanks Zick & Richard Fl!

Thanks for the tip @Richard_Fl, I will keep it in mind. I actually was wearing a long glove for most of this one. When I poured the marinated beef into the wok, something in the marinade (black soy sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil) flared up big time. Just when my arm hairs were growing back after my last BGE flashback too. The Thai chiles are what were giving off some powerful gasses. I am curious though, how would you get the chili oil into the dish? Or is it a case where the recipe just shouldn't even call for you to do that?

Add the chile oil after there are a few items in the dish..Just not directly on the hot wok.

jfm0830 · November 2012

@Griffin. Thanks for looking and thanks for your suggestion. There is only one problem though: that whole pesky stir-fry in the winter thing. Since it's a stir-fry and since you're busy the whole time, I'd have to bring the plate out before I started cooking. Since the air temperature was only 27° that wasn't practical. When I'm doing something less labor-intensive, I will often have a plate sitting just inside the door in the heat of the kitchen and just before the food is coming off the grill, I'll run and grab it and take my food off the grill and plate it out there. But with the stirfry things were just too busy. Your idea will certainly work in the warmer weather, but in the meantime I'm going to have to just pull the food a little earlier.

Here is the link for the other post: http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1145653/chicken-w-garlic-snap-peas-1st-wok-cook#latest

I really did like Breath of a Wok. About half of the book is background about the culture and how the wok and wok cooking evolved over time and I found that very interesting. I felt it was good to get an understanding of where the type of cooking came from and it's traditions, before I attempted it myself. This additional understanding helps bring the recipes to life once you get to the recipes section. Reading the reviews in Amazon, I know some people were put off by the amount of background and non-recipe information. But to me was very helpful to understand the culture and the nature of the cooking before actually attempting it. One of Grace Youngs other books Stir-Frying to the Skies Edge, is about three quarters recipe and one quarter background if the recipes are more important to you.

Griffin · November 2012

I personally like backgrounds and stories in cook books. That may just be me.

nolaegghead · November 2012

Grasshopper: Is it good to seek the past, Master Po? Does it not rob the present?
Master Po: If a man dwells on the past, then he robs the present. But if a man ignores the past, he may rob the future. The seeds of our destiny are nurtured by the roots of our past.

SmokinDAWG82 · November 2012

Jim stop selling yourself short, anybody who documents his cooks the way you do and takes the time to get those last photos with the crossed chopsticks is a pro! Great looking cook and excellent documentation! You da MAN!

Plano_JJ · November 2012

Jim, love your posts and pics. Where do you get those little ss/alum looking cups that you have ingredients in? I'm tired of having ingredients all over the table. Thanks, JJ

Budgeezer · November 2012

Looks great. Next on my egg wish list if the wok set up.

jfm0830 · November 2012

Thanks again to everyone for looking & their kind remarks.

@SmokinDAWG82: Thanks man for your vote of confidence. I am in a good place when it comes to shooting pictures of what I cook. But as for stir-fry cooking I am just barely scratching the surface of what it is about. I am no expert or anything even close-I am a newbie in the land of stir-fry. But I plan to enjoy myself learning about some new types of food and new ways of preparing it. The results make it all the more fun. Plus to some extent cooking is cooking, things I learn here will help with other types of cooking. This hobby has gotten so much more fun since I got my Egg :D

@Plano_JJ: Beb, Bath & Beyond had them in packs of 4.

Jim

SaltySam · November 2012

At 600 degrees, and the wok warmed up, I'm guessing that you don't need to close the dome at all during the cook? From the time you first put the marinated flank steak on, how long did the entire process take?

jfm0830 · November 2012

Both wok cooks I have done have been done with the lid open. With the lid down, I stabilize the egg at my desired cooking temperature, put the wok on for a minute or two to preheat it, and then open the lid. From this point forward the lid stays open. I do close the lower damper to about 50 percent of where it currently is. This serves to help keep from getting runaway temperatures because the top lid is wide open.

In terms of time: My first cook took eight minutes at 550 degrees and this cook took five minutes at 600 degrees. The first cook did have more steps in it. This Cook was relatively straightforward with only three cooking stages.

Solson005 · November 2012

Looks good with great pictures as always, I just started reading the book and will have to try this recipe soon.

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Hot Beef Stir Fry on a Cold Night

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