Korean Beef and Rice

The store offers beef strips for stir fry which I opted for, however you can purchase a small sirloin steak if you happen to find it on sale and cut your own strips to use for this dish. Just be sure you cut against the grain so you don't end up with shoe leather beef.
This Korean beef and rice dish is easy to do and the marinating time is actually the longest time involved. One thing you could do is make the marinade a day ahead, marinating the beef overnight. As well, make the infused oil the day before just make sure you store it in a container with a lid when complete.
With these steps out of the way you are ready to rock out dinner the next night when you come home for work.
In terms of spending, this whole dinner including the rice cost $12.25 and is enough to feed four people for $3.06 each. Not a rock bottom dinner but still on the inexpensive side. It's fiery, a little sweet and a little out of the everyday meal your family will enjoy.

• 1 lb. beef strips

For the marinade:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons sake
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tbsp. garlic - minced
• 2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

1. In a small skillet over medium heat lightly toast the sesame seeds until lightly brown. Keep tossing or stirring them so they do not burn. Place them in a bowl.
2. To the bowl with the toasted sesame seeds add the remainder of ingredients. Whisk well to incorporate the sugar. Reserve 1/4 cup before you add the beef into the marinade.
3. Marinate the beef strips for one hour to over night until you are ready to use them.

The next step is making this dish colorful and full of flavor and texture.

• 1 small green bell pepper
• 1 small red bell pepper
• 1/2 large onion - sliced into half moons
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 4-5 dried red chillies

1. In a deep skillet or a wok add the olive oil and the dried red chillies. Over medium low heat cook the chillies in the oil for 3 minutes then turn the heat off. All the chillies to infuse their flavor into the oil. Let them sit there while you do the rest of your prep work. You can do this ahead of time as well - like earlier in the day and just let it sit. When you are ready to use the oil just discard the chillies.
2. Cut the onion in half moon slices.
3. Cut both peppers into strips after removing the seeds and the white veins.
4. To the infused oil and over medium high to high heat quickly sear the marinated beef and after searing place in a waiting bowl or on a plate. Do in batches as necessary.
5. Add in the onions and peppers and quickly sear them over medium high heat, turn down to medium low and cook for a couple of minutes.
6. Next, add the beef back to the pan along with the reserved marinade and cook for a couple of minutes until the beef is cooked through.

Serve this dinner over some white rice for a complete and wonderful meal.

By the time I had this dinner done yesterday, the clouds had loured over the sun making it impossible to get a decent food shot. This is one of the funky photos that I took on our bay window.