Beef stir-fry with leafy greens and rice sticks

Note: I found it helpful to use two large cutting boards while prepping: one for slicing the raw beef and the other for the vegetables.

You will need a large wok–ideally 14 inches–or comparable sturdy frying pan to make this stir-fry.

If you are making rice noodles to accompany the stir-fry, cook them now.

Make the marinade:

In a large glass or ceramic bowl, fork together the soy sauces, potato starch, rice wine, and water. Add the sliced steak and mix well; I find my clean hands do the best job, but use a fork if you prefer. Set aside.

If you are making rice, do it now.

Place wok over high heat and add about 3 tablespoons peanut oil; the bottom of the wok should be generously coated. Heat to just under smoking point.

Carefully add bok choy, scallions, and rice sticks to the wok; getting spattered by hot oil is not a pleasant way to start dinner. Turn heat down a bit: you want heat high enough to cook the food but not so high it burns. Stir constantly, keeping food moving rapdily; rice sticks in particular like sticking.  Greens will cook down rapidly. If the wok begins going dry, stand back and pour in a little rice wine.

After a minute or two–the greens will be cooked down and reduced in volume–tip in the beef and its marinade (there won’t be much). It will be a tight fit in the wok. That’s okay. Add a bit of wine if necessary. Keep stirring until the beef is cooked through, about four minutes. Taste for salt. Add sesame oil to taste.

Serve with noodles or rice. I like chili oil at the table with this, too.

Beef stir-fry with leafy greens and rice sticks will keep, refrigerated in a covered container, for about four days. While you could freeze this, it’s inadvisable, as flavor and texture will suffer.

Note: Korean rice sticks are increasingly available in well-stocked supermarkets. They are sold in large plastic bags. Look for them in the frozen foods aisles. Asian markets carry huge varieties of rice cakes in a number of shapes and sizes. They keep in the refrigerater about two weeks and freeze indefinitely.