Basic Beef Stir-fry

Packaged stir-fry vegetables and pre-made stir-fry sauce do most of the work for you in this easy recipe. Basic Beef Stir-fry is a great choice for newcomers to Chinese cooking - the packaged vegetable mix gives you a good idea of the types of vegetables used in stir-frying and how they are prepared, while the stir-fry sauce adds flavour.

Ingredients:

 3/4 - 1 pound flank steak

1/2 cup stir-fry sauce (such as Kikkoman)

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons canola oil or peanut oil, divided

3 – 3 1/2 cups frozen stir-fry vegetable mix

Preparation:

1. Use a sharp carving knife or a cleaver to cut the steak into thin slices that are about 1/8 inch thick and 1 1/2 - 2 inches long. If you like, go one step further and lay the strips on top of one another and cut again into thin strips.

2. Measure out the stir-fry sauce into a small bowl or a measuring cup. Chop the garlic.

3. Heat a wok or heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it is almost smoking. Add 2 tablespoons oil into the wok, tilting the pan and drizzling the oil so that it coats the sides of the pan. When the oil is hot, add half of the chopped garlic. (You can test to see if the oil is hot by dropping in a small piece of garlic. If it sizzles, the oil is ready). Stir-fry the garlic for 10 seconds, and then add the beef.

4. Lay the beef flat in the pan. Let it brown briefly, then stir-fry the beef until it loses its redness and is nearly cooked through (if you are using 1 pound beef it's best to divide it in half and cook in two batches). Remove the stir-fried beef and drain in a colander or on paper towels.
5. Heat 1 tablespoon oil of oil in the same wok or skillet. When the oil is hot, add the remainder of the garlic. Stir-fry for 10 seconds, then add the frozen vegetables. Stir-fry for 3 – 5 minutes, or according to package directions. Splash the vegetables with a bit of water if the vegetables begin to dry out while you are stir-frying.
6. Add the stir-fried beef back into pan. Add the stir-fry sauce and bring to a boil. Stir-fry for 1 – 2 more minutes to mix everything together. Serve hot over cooked rice.