Flank steak with bok choy and black beans

My dad might roll over in his grave to hear me say this, but I hardly know how to cook anything Chinese. And for some reason, most of the things I have experience making are very labor intensive, like potstickers and won ton. I also once helped the extended Hungry Dog clan make sesame balls. You may be familiar with these little bits of fried dough, usually containing sweet bean paste. Well, not in our family. We make them savory, filled with roast pork, green onions, and water chestnuts.

When I asked an elderly aunt why we make them with salty pork instead of sweet beans, she looked at me in surprise. "Because we like pork better," she said. Well, then.

I do have one Chinese dinner in my repertoire that I am capable of making on any given weeknight. My dad would be pleased to know that it's actually a recipe of his that appeared in the first volume of our family cookbook: flank steak with black beans.

As might be typical with family recipes, this one is somehow both incredibly specific ("Stir-fry flank steak for 45 seconds!") and frustratingly vague ("use several slices of ginger"). But now I've made the recipe so many times I know how to do it just the way I like it.

FLANK STEAK WITH BOK CHOY AND BLACK BEANS

Marinate 1 lb. thinly-sliced flank steak in 4 T. soy sauce, 2 T. dry sherry, and several slices of ginger for 20 minutes.

When done marinating, remove ginger slices. Heat 2 T. vegetable oil in a wok over very high heat. Add the flank steak, being careful not to splatter the hot oil. Cook, tossing constantly, for 1-2 minutes. Do not cook all the way through. Remove the flank steak from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Heat another 2 T. vegetable oil in the pan. Add 2 1/2 T. black beans, 2-3 minced garlic cloves, and 1-2 T. minced ginger.

A word about the black beans: I've used the old-school ones that are encased in a starchy fermented goo. These actually taste good but have a strong smell while cooking. If you use these, you should rinse them really well first.

Usually I use this, which may or may not be considered cheater-style, but works like a charm.

Cook black beans, garlic, and ginger over high heat for 2 minutes. Add one chopped red bell pepper and cook 1 minute.

Add 1 t. sugar, 1 t. salt, and chopped bok choy (or other vegetable) and toss to coat vegetables in black bean mixture.  For the vegetable, use as much as you like. I might use one head of broccoli, or several bok choys, depending on how big they are. With broccoli, I blanch it first and then add it to the stir-fry; that way it doesn't have to cook so long in the black beans and keeps its bright green color.

Add 3/4 -1 1/2 c. chicken broth. The amount varies with 1) how saucy you like your stir-fry, and 2) how much liquid your vegetable needs to cook.

If you use bok choy, it hardly needs more than a minute to cook. Broccoli will take 4-5 minutes.

Make a slurry with 1 1/2 T. corn starch and 1 1/2 T. water and add to the pan, stirring into the sauce. It will thicken very fast.

Turn off heat and add flank steak and all juices to pan. Toss, allowing the steak to finish cooking in the residual heat. Serve immediately.

I usually serve this with rice and a piece of fish (usually cod, snapper, or white basa) that I steam with salt and ginger and drizzle a little sesame oil over. Two dishes is all the Chinese cooking I can handle at a time.

I realize I haven't written out this recipe in a printer-friendly way. I guess I feel it doesn't matter too much--once you learn the method, you can adjust all the amounts and the ingredients depending on your tastes. You could use chicken or shrimp instead of beef, and any vegetable you like. The key with stir-frying, besides taking great care not to overcook any of the ingredients, is that you want everything chopped in advance. Once you start cooking this dish, it's done in 10 minutes. But you don't want things getting soggy while you're frantically trying to pull ingredients together. I get everything prepped and have it ready right by the stove before I start.

This is one of the husband's favorite dinners. I have to agree there's something incredibly satisfying about this dish; plus, it makes for impressive lunch leftovers the next day.