Teriyaki Beef and Vegetables

Cooking time and prep time make this a worthy weeknight meal.

Way, way, way back I was introduced to Asian cooking when friends of mine had discovered this little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant in our area. I was a single parent working and trying to support a house and two small children so being invited out to eat as their guest was a fabulous treat for me. And the food, well as I can recall, it was incredible. It wasn't your typical franchise Chinese take out ~ this was the real deal. And that deal sealed it for me; from then on I was hooked and purchased my first cookbook to learn about the ingredients, where recipes originated and how to prepare the food.
Here is a photograph of my rather worn cookbook. The cookbook is broken down into regions so you get an understanding of the food and the culture and has become my Chinese bible.

And back then when I was a single parent there was really only one or two choices for soy sauce and both were extremely disappointing. Then I heard about this woman who sold Chinese products across the river. Her little shop was within her home and that became my place to hit for soy sauce and other ingredients not yet found in the local supermarkets. Sadly, and I don't know why her shop closed and the small hole in the wall restaurant closed as well.

Fast forward: I now own a wok and stir-fry meals become a part of our dinner line up. I've also at this point developed my own Teriyaki Sauce for marinating which I use to sell in my small food to go restaurant. Hence, I begin to create a number of stir-fry meals for my family (whose taste buds had grown up) and begin to blog them here at Cooking On A Budget.

Here's the recipe:

• 1 lb. sirloin tips or sirloin steak would work
• 1 orange bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 small bunch bok choy
• 1 box porcini mushrooms - quartered
• 2 handfuls sno peas
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce for marinating + extra for searing the meat
• 3 large garlic cloves - minced
• 1 tsp. fresh ginger - grated
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 3 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. mirin 
• 1 tbsp. oil (canola, vegetable)
• granulated garlic to taste
• onion powder to taste
• salt and black pepper to taste

 I thought this would be better to use a deep skillet because I wanted to sear the marinated sirloin flap strips whole, allow them to rest while I was cooking the vegetables, then cut them up and add to the pan to finish cooking and warm through.You can use a wok which means you will slice the steak ahead rather than sear them whole.

This is the color you are looking for:

1. Buy or make your own Teriyaki sauce and marinate the whole sirloin tips in it. You can marinate for as little as 1/2 hour while you get your vegetables prepped (or overnight if you choose). Before you marinate, season the steak on both sides with salt, pepper, granulated garlic and onion powder to taste. Flip over halfway through marinating.
2. I cut the peppers in larger pieces, quartered the mushrooms, left the sno peas whole, used the inner part of the bok choy whole and rough chopped the rest of the bok choy.
3. I grated the ginger on a micro plane and minced the garlic.
4. Get the skillet screaming hot over high heat. Add 1 tbsp. oil to the pan and swirl around. Add in the beef and sear in batches as necessary. I drizzled some fresh teriyaki sauce on the meat as it was searing. By swirling the meat around you end up with a nice caramelized piece of meat. Only cook until brown - do not over cook and place it on a waiting cutting board to rest. While the vegetables are cooking you can cut the meat.
5. After the meat is seared, turn the heat down to medium and if necessary add a touch of oil to the pan and add the ginger and garlic. Stir. Cook for 30 seconds.
6. Toss in the other vegetables and "stir fry" on medium high or high for a few minutes. Add in the liquid ingredients, stir and cook about 3 minutes and then add the meat strips back to the pan, stir and cook for a few more minutes as necessary to finish cooking the beef.

You are ready to plate.

Prep time: marinating 1/2 hour
Vegetable prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Feeds: 4-6

***Cook's Note*** If the sirloin tip meat seems expensive and there is sirloin steak on sale for less, go for that. Use the meat tenderizer side of your mallet on the steak before marinating in the Teriyaki Sauce.

Back in 2013 when I first made the dish the cost was $18.43. Now in 2016 the cost is $21.77, feeding six for $3.62 each. I am certain you can make this for less if you get the meat and the peppers at a sale price - I paid full price for both. The fact is you can't order Chinese take out to feed six people for $21.77.

There is still an advantage to making your own Chinese food at home, and while you might incur some extra expense initially to obtain items for your Chinese pantry, it's worth it to make it at home. You control the sodium and sugar levels and the freshness of the products.

I want to draw your attention to a couple of items in my photograph. The two little oriental gals were my mother's as well as the Blue Willow Platter. The story behind the "Chinese Girls" as I used to call them when I was little is this: my parents who loved to play cards, were friends with a couple whose youngest son was in the military. On his visits home he visited my mom and presented her with gifts. Looking back he may have had a crush on her (I am chuckling as I write this.) because he brought back these figurines and another time a beautiful tea set from Asia.

Today, February 9th, 2016 marks 27 years since my mother lost her battle to cancer so it was only fitting that I was able to incorporate a little of her in my photographs.

If you would like to pin this one or any of these other photographs above for future reference: