How to Stir-Fry Beef and Scallions in a Wok?

Stir-Fry Beef & Scallions Recipe

Serve: 2
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes

For the beef and marinades:
1 1/2 pound New York Strip Steak, sliced into 1/3 inch pieces, against the grain
Dash of soy sauce
Pinch of salt
Pinch of white pepper
1 egg white
1 tablespoon cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon cornstarch slurry and 1 tablespoon water)
(1 tablespoon extra light olive oil)

For the salt water:
3 cups water
1/3 teaspoon salt

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
1/3 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of white pepper
Dash of sesame oil

Side ingredients:
6 stalks scallions, cut into 1 1/2 inches pieces, divide the green and white parts
3 garlic cloves, smashed
3 ginger slices
3 tablespoons extra light olive oil

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, add in the beef, water, and salt. Mix well. Soak the beef for 10 minutes to remove blood. (The salt water will also help to tenderize the beef.) Squeeze the water out.
2. In a bowl, transfer in the beef, and add the marinades: soy sauce, salt, white pepper, egg white, cornstarch slurry. Mix well. (Both egg white and cornstarch will help to tenderize the beef. As a tenderizing agent, Chinese restaurants usually also add a pinch of baking soda. But since New York Strip is already very tender, we will skip baking soda.) Marinate for 10 minutes.
3. To make the sauce, in a bowl, add soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, salt, white pepper, sesame oil. Mix well.
4. * Follow this step if you are using an iron wok, and skip it if you are a nonstick pan: To prepare the wok and add a nonstick layer to it, first, turn to high heat until smoking. Then add about 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in it (you can also use other types of high smoking point oil), move it inside the pan a bit, and make sure every part of the wok has a layer of oil on it. Pour out the oil (after the oil is cooled, you can put it in a jar, and store it in a cool place. You can still use it this way next time. ) The wok has a nonstick coating on it now
5. To stir-fry the beef, first, over high heat, heat the wok until smoking. Then, add about 2 tablespoons of extra light olive oil in it. Heat it up until warm, about 15 seconds. Add the beef. Let it sear for about 30 seconds without touching it. (So it has a light crust on the bottom and won’t stick to the wok.) (Normally, for the meat not sticking to the wok, we use hot wok and cool oil. But I used hot wok and warm oil method today. Because if the temperature isn’t high enough, beef will release water content, and create a tougher texture.) Stir-fry until medium-well, about 1 minute. Take it out and set aside.
6. In the wok, heat it over high heat until smoking, add 1 tablespoon of extra light olive oil. Then add in the ginger, white part of scallions, and garlic. Stir-fry until aromatic, 30 seconds. Add back the beef slices, add the sauce, and quickly stir-fry everything together. Lastly, and in the green part of scallions. Mix well. Serve.