Recipe: Beef with Broccoli and Snow Peas

My mother bought a pack of five great-looking New York strip steaks earlier this week, two of which I used earlier in my Penne with Beef and Arugula dish, so I was looking for recipe ideas for the remaining steaks. I decided to try my hand at making beef and broccoli (plus snow peas, at my mother's request) because it seemed like the perfect way to put the steaks to good use. I looked through various recipes online to get an idea of how to make it and based my final recipe on this one. The result was a flavorful, filling dish that I would confidently say was better than most Chinese restaurant versions that I've tried. Yes. It was that good.

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 5-10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2 (8 oz.) New York strip steaks (part of what makes this dish better than a lot of restaurants is a better cut of meat)
• 7-10 oz. broccoli florets (I used baby florets, because the smaller size makes them easier to eat)
• 2-3 oz. snow peas, cleaned (peel away the stringy bit of green on the straight edge of the peas)
• 3 tbsp. peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
• 1 tsp. corn starch dissolved into 1/4 cup water

For the beef marinade:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce (we use lite/low sodium sauce)
• 1 tsp. freshly peeled and grated ginger root
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 2 tsp. Chinese rice wine (or dry/cooking sherry—that's what I use)
• 1/2 tsp. corn starch

For the sauce:

• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. oyster sauce (this can be found in the Asian food section at your grocery store and, yes, you really do need this for the dish—it's a necessary flavor)
• 1 tbsp. Chinese rice wine (or dry/cooking sherry)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp. corn starch (this acts as a thickening agent)

Directions 
Cut the steaks (against the grain) into thin slices. Mix together the ingredients for the beef marinade and put the beef slices into the marinade, tossing them in the mixture to completely coat them. Set aside to let the beef soak up the flavors.
Blanch the broccoli by bringing a small pot of water to a boil and adding the broccoli, cooking it for 2-3 minutes, then draining the water. Put the snow peas and broccoli in a covered dish and set aside. Prepare the sauce for the dish in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat. When a drop of water sizzles and evaporates immediately when dripped into the pan, add the oil to the pan and tilt the pan a bit so that the oil coats the bottom evenly. Add the beef, spreading it out so that no pieces are on top of each other, and let them fry for 1 minute. Flip the slices over and fry for another minute, then add the sauce, broccoli, snow peas, and cornstarch-and-water mixture and reduce to medium high heat. Cook, stirring, until the sauce is boiling and has thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and serve alone or over rice.

Sizzlin' away in the frying pan

This is one of my favorite dishes out of those that I've made so far this summer. It's definitely got that umami flavor that those Kikkoman commercials talk about—a rich savoriness that is so delicious. It was definitely fun stepping away from Italian food tonight and this was a great alternative to buying cheap take out from the local Chinese restaurant.

Recipe: Penne with Beef and Arugula

"Mom! What are we having for dinner?"
"Chicken."
"Awwwww! Again?"
"Yes."

My mom's use of chicken in just about every dinner dish we had when I was a kid was an ongoing joke. Other than spaghetti and meatballs, a totally 90s "taco pie," and this awful beef and rice stuffed cabbage that she made, my mom's dishes typically involved chicken. Now, don't get me wrong, I love chicken (and my mom's meals). You can do just about anything with chicken—you can flavor it with an endless number of sauces and rubs, pair it with any side dish, and cook it in countless different ways—but it does get boring after a while. So tonight, I decided not to cook with chicken and pick another protein. I leafed through the pages of my Giada De Laurentiis Everyday Pasta cookbook and found a pasta dish that called for New York strip steaks, and that was just the kind of meal I was looking for.

Serves: 6-8
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 20-30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2 New York strip steaks, about 8 oz. each
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp. herbes de Provence
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus a few tablespoons to cook the steak in)
• 1 lb. penne pasta
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard (or spicy brown mustard)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 cups chopped arugula 

Directions
Season  both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper, minced garlic, and herbes de Provence. Heat about 3 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat (try to avoid non-stick skillets as they tend to not brown meat as well as regular skillets). Cook the steaks for 5-7 minutes per side (this will get you a nice medium pink inside). Remove the meat from the skillet and let it rest on a cutting board while you cook the pasta.
In the meantime, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally (8-10 minutes). Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, balsamic vinegar, 3/4 cup olive oil, basil, parsley, and about 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper to make a sauce.
Toss the sauce and chopped arugula with the penne, and add the reserved cooking liquid. Slice the steaks thin and add the slices to the pasta, and toss to mix completely.

The sauce has a lot of kick to it and pairs perfectly with the steak (it would be great just drizzled on a salad too). The fresh herbs and arugula add a lightness to the dish and great color too, and I love the flavor of the herbes de Provence on the steak (that seasoning is phenomenal—it has lemon peel, lavender, thyme, basil, fennel, savory, and more). It's a delicious change from a chicken dish and it's the sort of dish that would work great as a meal hot from the stove or as a dish for a picnic.