Ginger beef is a classic Chinese-Canadian dish: Culinary lore says it was created in Alberta. Ours is a healthier version, as we don’t deep-fry the beef first, nor does our recipe call for sugar. This recipe is hearty yet fresh, super-flavourful, and tastes best when started the day before. Self-reliant Asian-Canadian farmers started growing this crop—a member of the cruciferous veg family—way back in the 1970s, but if it isn’t available, use cabbage or rapini instead.
Ingredients
2 heaping tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp Asian chili garlic sauce or sriracha
1 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp strong mustard;
Dijon, English or German hot style
1 tsp white pepper
About 1/4 lb grass-fed beef, thinly sliced—any cut you like—leave fat on the beef
1/4 cup medium-dry sherry
1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil
4 to 6 baby bok choi, cut in half lengthwise, washed and spun dry
1 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp cornstarch
Method
Starting the day before if possible, in a bowl, whisk together ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili sauce, honey, mustard and white pepper. Add beef, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or, preferably, up to 24 hours.
About an hour before you’re ready to cook, strain beef through a sieve over a bowl. Let it sit on the counter to drain and come to room temperature. Reserve the marinade; there will only be a wee bit. Add the sherry to this.
In large skillet or wok over high heat, add peanut oil and bok choi; stir or toss vigorously until bok choi is wilting, glossy and charring here and there, about 3 minutes.
Add beef; stir or toss until just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add sesame seeds.
To the marinade, whisk in the cornstarch, then add the marinade to the hot skillet and stir to coat the beef and bok choi; cook until the marinade has reduced to a thick sauce, just 1 or 2 more minutes. Serve immediately with a side of rice or quinoa.
TIP Bok choi is often sandy inside, so soak the cut pieces in cold water to wash.
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From Hudson, Quebec, now living in Port Hope, Ontario, Signe is a restaurant chef-turned-writer who tells award-winning stories and creates delicious recipes for LCBO’s Food & Drink, Manna Pro Hearty Homestead, The Harvest Commission, and Today’s Parent; she published her first book – Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs; Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden with 100 Recipes – in 2015.
