Today we are talking about Shaking Beef, a dish typically served with Chef’s “Special Sauce.” In my house, this dish is a keeper. The method is basic stir-frying and the shaking of the skillet it requires is where it gets its name, though kicking the ingredients around with a wooden spoon will also do the trick. The chef then builds upon the “gravy” that’s just been made.
While you frequently see orange and lemon flavors used in Asian dishes, lime is a bit more rare, although it’s common in Thai and Cambodian cuisines. The lime in this dish enhances the flavor of the teriyaki sauce, adding a bit of tartness that is actually quite nuanced. This was a dish that grew on me; at first it tasted simply like beef in teriyaki sauce, but as the heat released the oils from the lime zest, it really perked up. In the end, my family sat around picking pieces out of the skillet and I never even had a chance to make the rice and veggie stir fry I had planned to accompany it.
So go on, get out there and shake that beef!
Shaking Beef Adapted by Dee Ryan from a recipe by The Elephant Walk in Boston, originally published at tastebook.com Serves 4
Vegetable oil or other neutral oil
1½ lbs. beef (petite tenders are great to use in stir fries)
Juice and zest of 1 lime
3 green onions, sliced
½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/3 cup prepared teriyaki sauce (if you want to make your own, here’s a good example)
• Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add beef and lime juice and sauté (shake) until the beef is evenly browned. Remove the beef from the skillet and set aside.
• Add half of the green onions, and all of the ginger to the skillet and cook over medium heat for 1 minute.
• Return the beef to the skillet and add the teriyaki sauce (shake again). Serve topped with the rest of the green onion and the lime zest
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This article appears in May 1-31, 2011.