Sweet and Spicy Beef Stir-Fry with Ginger

This summer hasn’t been great. I’m not going to bore you with the details, as this is a cooking blog not a diary. But things are on the up. I started an MA and diploma in Multimedia Journalism this week, and can’t wait to get back into writing again after a 2 month long hiatus. 

I created this recipe forever ago, ready to share with you, but then life got too much and I completely forgot about. Quite how I forgot about it I don’t know, because it’s the most quickest, easiest and tastiest supper. I for one am a great fan of sweet flavours in savoury food, I always order a fruity Chicken Kashmiri from my local Indian takeaway, and scatter extra pineapple over my pizzas. The fresh pineapple used here adds just the right amount of sweetness, complimenting the beef well. 

Serves 2

300g rump steak, thinly sliced

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp Tabasco sauce

1/2 tbsp rice vinegar

1/2 tbsp rice mirin wine

thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into thin matchsticks

handful of mange tout

4 spring onions, thickly sliced

100g pineapple, cut into small pieces

large handful of beansprouts

coriander leaves, to garnish

rice, to serve

splash of olive oil

1. Put the beef in a bowl with the soy sauce, sugar, tabasco, vinegar and wine, and marinate for 10 minutes or so.
2. Heat the oil in a large deep frying pan, lift the beef from the marinade and add to pan, searing quickly on all sides, before removing to a plate.
3. Add the ginger to the pan and fry for a minute, then add the mange tout, before adding the onion, pineapple, beansprouts and any remaining marinade.
4. Fry on a high heat, stirring constantly. After a minute add the beef and give everything a good stir. 
5. Serve over rice, and garnish with the coriander leaves. 

Beef and Ale Stew with Cheese Scones

So I’ve decided to post a series of cheap midweek suppers, after my friend Maddy asked me if I could suggest some recipes that might mix up her weekly menu a bit. By chance, I’ve been trying to cook on more of a budget of late, particularly through trying cheaper cuts of meats and by eating more vegetarian dishes. What I’ve found is that there is no need to scrimp on flavour, quality or creativity when your counting the pennies, and everyday meals can be just as exciting and interesting as those more expensive special occasion dishes.

The first dish that I wanted to share with you is a delicious and hearty Beef and Ale Stew with Cheese Scones. I can’t tell you how shocked I was with how cheap beef shin and braising steak is; an ample serving for two can be bought for around a pound. Couple that with a few vegetables and some store cupboard products, and you’ve got yourself an affordable meal. I cooked the stew in one big pan, and left the stock and ale to do their magic whilst watching Masterchef, so its hardly labour intensive either. Cooking the beef for two hours made it melt in the mouth, and the addition of the fluffy cheese scones meant all those lovely juices were soaked up.

Adapted from Bills Cook Eat Smile

Serves 2

1 small onion, chopped

1 large stick celery, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

350g stewing beef, cubed

1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 small tomato, chopped

300ml beef stock

1x 275ml bottle of stout

- For the Cheese Scones -

90g self raising flour

25g butter, in small pieces

¼ tsp baking powder

30ml milk

40g cheddar, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Heat a splash of olive oil in a casserole (which has a lid) and cook the onion, carrot and celery over a low heat for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Put the vegetables in to a dish to one side, and then cook the beef in the casserole until browned all over.
2. Put the vegetables back in the pan and add the tomato, stock and beer, and bring to the boil. Season, put on the lid of the casserole and place in the oven for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
3. To make the scones, rub the butter, flour and baking powder together with a pinch of salt until the mixture is breadcrumb like, then add the cheese and mix. Pour in enough milk to bind the mixture and make a dough. Roll into walnut-sized balls. Place on top of the casserole for the last 30 minutes of cooking, with the lid on for 15 minutes and then taking it off for the final 15 so they can brown. 

Chilli con Carne

Before now my understanding of this classic Texan dish was that it consisted of beef mince, an onion, garlic, a tin of chopped tomatoes and one of kidney beans, and of course, a chilli, all served over a pile of rice. How wrong could I be? The greatest thing about this recipe is that most of the ingredients where hiding in my cupboard just waiting for me to put them all together. Of course I substituted the meat for quorn mince, and added a dollop of marmite to give it more depth of flavour, but I really couldn’t fault the recipe in any way. The fact that you can pretty much throw all the ingredients together in one big pan and leave it on a low heat for a couple of hours makes it a very appealing choice for the busy student, who wants a really tasty and satisfying supper, but who can’t be bothered to hover over the stove for more then 10 minutes.

From Leon: Naturally Fast Food

Serves 6

3 carrots

2 onions

4 cloves garlic

olive oil

2 sticks celery

1 kg minced beef

2 tsp ground cumin

3 bay leaves

1 tsp oregano

2 tsp sweet paprika

3 tsp cayenne pepper

6 tbsp tomato puree

3x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

100ml malt vinegar

2x 400g tin kidney beans, drained

1. Peel and quarter the carrots and onions, chop the celery and peel the garlic (the original recipe says to blitz all the veg in the food processor, but I chopped them all finely by hand and they turned out great).
2. Heat the oil in a large deep pan, add the veg and fry until they have all softened.
3. Add the mince and cook until it is brown all over. Then add all the other ingredients and stir. Cook uncovered for two hours on the hob, stirring occasionally, and add a little water to stop it drying out if necessary.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £10

Kitchen Requirements: ONE LARGE DEEP PAN.