Wok Wednesdays | Chinese Jamaican Stir-Fried Beef and Carrots

WW wokking through Stir-Frying to The Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

 

I'm late posting this recipe for I did not even make it until the Wednesday it was due. Argh. Hate that. Not that it happens often - I'm just a stickler for being on time.

 Mise en place.
(Very few ingredients this round.)

Bowl 1: Carrots

Bowl 2: Onion

Bowl 3: Flank steak, soy sauce, cornstarch, salt, oil

Bowl 4: Hunan chili garlic sauce (recipe calls for Matouk's Calypso Sauce)

Bowl 5: Salt

The other reason I am late posting this, it's hard to write a story on something you're not gung-ho about (sorry Grace!). This stir-fry did not have the knock-your-socks-off flavor so many of the other recipes have.

There was no ginger or garlic used in this recipe (both of which I love).

The only aromatic is the onion, which is stir-fried along with the carrots, and then transferred to a bowl while the meat is added to the wok and seared, but not cooked all the way through. The carrot mixture is then added back to the wok with the meat, along with the hot sauce and a dash of salt, and stir-fried for a short time, just until the beef is done - and that's it.

No mixture of soy sauce, rice wine, fish sauce, or hoisin, to throw in at the end of the stir-fry. I think that is what I enjoy in most of the recipes, that and starting the recipes out with some garlic and ginger.

Maybe it would have tasted better if I had the right hot sauce (Matouk's Calypso Sauce) - sometimes that one ingredient is what pulls it altogether and makes the dish. However, I have told myself I need to use up what I have before purchasing new; and I have a few bottles of different hot sauces that need to be used up first. 

Please don't let this post sway you from not wanting to try it yourself. You may like it, as other members of Wok Wednesdays did. It just wasn't my style - and for once, I'm not sounding like a broken record - saying how simple and fabulous these recipes from the book are - and they have been!! So go get the book already!! :)

We are asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 78 of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed. 

Wok Wednesdays is an online cooking group. If you would like information about joining us, click here, or visit us on Facebook. Would love for you to wok along with us!