This stir fry is delicious and works great as tomorrow's lunch, including for kid's and grown up's lunchboxes. The secret to making this stir fry better the next day comes in two steps: choosing hearty vegetables that are flash cooked to retain their crunch (and not get slimy) and a sauce that's added when it's time to eat.  

Lunchbox Beef Stir Fry

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 750g beef rump steak, thinly sliced 
•  1.5 x 300g packet stir fry noodles or 1 1/2 cups cooked rice
• 1 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced

• 2 capsicums, red, green or yellow, thinly sliced
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 3 cups of string beans
• 3/4 cup of broccoli stems, sliced

• 4cm fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil 
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce, or oyster sauce
• 1 tsp of brown sugar
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

1. Prepare stir fry noodles according to packaging, drain and stand aside. Or cook rice and set aside, splitting portions of lunch and dinner. In another bowl, add 1 tablespoon sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar and ginger into a bowl, whisk until combined. Add beef strips and coat, sit covered for half an hour. 

2. Roast sesame seeds. On a medium-high wok, toss sesame seeds until lightly brown. Transfer to sauce bowl. 

3. Using about 1 teaspoon neutral oil, coat the wok and sear stir fry strips (saving the left over sauce, some which will be used in dinner and the other portion set aside for lunch tomorrow). To keep the vegetables crisp and fresh for tomorrow, we're going to cook the beef fully now. Once cooked, transfer to bowl and cover to keep warm. One portion will be used for dinner and another for tomorrow, so split now.

4.  Turn hot plate to high heat. With remaining oil, coat wok and add vegetables. Allow them to sit for a moment to get some char on them but not cook through. Toss and char again for another minute. Pull lunch portions out of pan and set aside. Return the dinner portion of beef strips to pan and add the dinner portion of the sauce.Simmer until thickened, then add noodles or rice and toss. 

5. Transfer to serving dish, coat with sesame seeds. 

6.  Combine the lunch portion of vegetables, beef and noodles/rice. Pack sauce separately to prevent the noodles or vegetables from soaking up too much liquid and going soggy. If you want to go the extra mile, you can thicken the sauce in the saucepan or in the microwave before packing it. 

If separating the portions out during cooking is too annoying, you can combine everything as normal and the stir fry will still be delicious the next day!