sesame beef stir fry with chopsticks and green vegetables

Healthy Beef Stir Fry

With the new year comes a lot of new choices, including your diet. It's always nice to have a refresh in the New Year, even if it's just to add a new dish to your dinner rotation. 
Stir fry is a classic healthy dish without compromising on the taste and eye appeal of our food. Stir fry can be flexible, often a 'everything but the kitchen sink' type of meal for the busy (or lazy) days. There's a few staples that make a stir fry pop. 

Sesame Beef Stir Fry

Serves 4 

Ingredients

  • 500g beef rump steak, thinly sliced 
  •  300g packet stir fry noodles 
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 3 gloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 brown onion, into wedges
  • 2 carrots, sliced 
  • 2 cups of snow peas, sliced or halved
  • 1/2 bunch of leafy greens, bok choy or English spinach
  • 3cm of fresh garlic
  • 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1/3 low sodium soy sauce, or oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp of brown sugar

Method

1. Prepare stir fry noodles according to packaging, drain and stand aside. In another bowl, add 2 teaspoons of 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. (Optional step) Roast sesame seeds. On a medium-high wok, toss sesame seeds until lightly brown. Transfer to sauce bowl. 

3. Using 1 teaspoon sesame oil, coat the wok and sear stir fry strips until brown (saving the left over sauce). Transfer to bowl and cover to keep warm. Scrape fond (leftover fat and meat bits) from the wok and add back into left over sauce mixture.

4.  With remaining sesame oil, coat wok and add vegetables. Add onion first to soften, then carrot, then snow peas. Return beef mixture and leftover sauce and simmer until thickened and beef cooked, then add noodles and spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted.  

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

Everything but the kitchen sink is a fun term to mean whatever you have on hand. That means, if you have a red onion instead of a white onion, or string beans instead of snow peas, it will still work. Other yummy vegetables like sliced capsicum, zucchini or button mushrooms all make great additions to your stir fry. It really can become any dish you like. 

Another great thing about stir fry is the versatility with meat. Rump steak is a great lean meat which can cook quickly and add flavour to your dish, but you can replace it with chicken, pork or even other beef cuts. If you have leftover steaks from a previous dinner, you can slice them and put them in (just be mindful to reduce cooking time!). 

You can use rice instead of noodles if you prefer, they just bring different things to the dish. It can depend on your availability and dietary needs-- noodles are quicker to cook. 

Brown sugar is a healthier sugar which adds sweetness and depth of flavour to all kinds of marinades, but it is easily left out. Similarly, there are many alternatives to high sodium sauces like soy sauce or oyster sauce. Tamari is an excellent, low-sodium swap. 

Stir Fry is an easy, quick, delicious meal that can help you meet your New Years resolutions and enjoy your weeknight meals. To learn more about red meats like beef and how they can fit into your diet, read our latest blog.