The Slanted Door’s "Shaking Beef”

I’m pretty sure the name “Shaking Beef” comes from the little hula-like dance the beef pieces do while cooking in the wok. 

Adapted from the The Slanted Door Cookbook, this recipe will provide not only an entertaining and delicious but - also, if the claim is true that eating greens with red meat will cancel any negative health effects,* - a totally guilt-free meal!

Ingredients: 

Marinade:

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil 
1 teaspoon coconut sugar 
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 pounds top sirloin steak, preferably grass fed, cut in 1” cubes

Note: For a more affordable dish than beef, substitute 1-1/2 pounds pork center cut bone-in chops, OR 12 oz. thinly-sliced shitake mushrooms.

Cooking Sauce:

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup Mirin rice wine
1/4 cup coconut aminos
1/2 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce

Dipping Sauce:

2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Stir Fry:

1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1 cup thinly sliced red onion, divided
3 green onions, cut into 1” pieces, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, preferably Strauss Family Farms, divided

Plating:

1  bunch young watercress, stems removed

Directions:

Marinade:

Combine the oil, sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl. Trim the fat from the meat and cut into 1" cubes. Marinate the meat for two hours at room temperature.

Cooking Sauce:

Combine the vinegar, Mirin, coconut aminos, sesame seed oil, sugar and fish sauce in a bowl. Set aside.

Dipping Sauce:

Combine the salt, pepper and lime juice. Set aside.

Stir Fry:

The ingredients are cooked in two batches as follows:

1. Heat a wok on high heat until a drop of water evaporates immediately. Add 1/2 cup of grape seed oil and heat until shimmering. Add 1/2 of the meat pieces, letting the bottom of each piece sear with a brown crust, about 30 seconds to 1 minute (depending on the temperature of your stove). Immediately turn the pieces over until cooked through, about another 30 seconds to 1 minute - do not overcook. Remove the meat pieces with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Pour 1/2 of the oil into a glass measuring cup to use later. 

2. Add 1/2 of the red and green onions to the wok. Stir for about 30 seconds. Add 1/2 of the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add 1/2 of the Cooking Sauce and stir. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and combine until the butter melts. Put the cooked meat back in the wok and stir to coat all ingredients. 

3. Set this batch aside (keeping it warm), wipe the wok, and cook the second batch the same way as the first one, starting with the oil previously set aside. 

Plating:

Place the cooked meat and pan sauce over a bed of fresh watercress (note: for the mushroom option, set aside extra pan sauce). Serve with the Dipping Sauce. 

Cauliflower rice (Paleo) or Jasmine rice optional.

Serves 4.


*Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, http://www.thepaleomom.com/2013/12/veggiephobia:
Scientific research shows that eating red meat in combination with vegetables containing chlorophyll "completely inhibits the production of potentially cancer-causing byproducts from the digestion and metabolism of heme (an iron-containing molecule that is rich in red meat).”

#paleo #Asian #Vietnamese #beef #watercress #pork #stirfry #shitake #foodphotography #foodporn