I attribute all that I know about Chinese cooking to my mother and her hard work in the kitchen, always wanting to nourish our family. I don’t recall any formal cooking lessons or even ever helping out all that much while she cooked, but somehow along the way I learned from her. She knows how to throw together elaborate meals without using recipes or instructions. For a while Chinese cooking was the only type of cuisine that I’d be brave enough to attempt without a recipe. It’s how I started learning to trust my own intuition and instincts at the stove, making adjustments as I went along.
Chinese stir-fries are frequent dinners for us and I’ve decided to share this sirloin and napa stir-fry because it’s simple and makes a great base recipe for creating other stir-fries. It’s also one of the few ways my kids will eat cabbage and I always feel victorious when my kids willingly branch out from the usual broccoli, spinach, and peas. An entire head of cabbage may seem like a lot at first, but it shrinks down considerably as it cooks. When stir-frying beef, always be sure to place the meat in the freezer for 30 minutes before slicing in order to make slicing the meat easier. Also, slicing thin and across the grain leads to more tenderness by relaxing the muscle fibers of the meat. Once all of the ingredients are prepped, stir-frying is generally pretty quick. I kept this one fairly minimalist by using only sirloin, onions, and napa, but you could also add carrots, broccoli, peppers, or whatever other vegetables you may have on hand.
As we gear up to celebrate Mother’s Day, I am especially thankful for my own mom and for the multitude of things I have learned from her. This post is dedicated to you, Mom!
- ¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1½ tablespoons sherry
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced, about ½ cup
- 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1½ pounds sirloin or flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain
- 1 small yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 head napa cabbage, about 2- 21/2 pounds
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil with a high smoke point, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¾ cup water mixed with 2 teaspoons cornstarch or arrowroot
- additional scallions and sesame seeds for garnish
- In a medium bowl, whisk together marinade ingredients. Add sliced sirloin, mix together, and marinate for at least 20 minutes.
- Pull and discard any damaged outer leaves from the cabbage. Cut the bottom off the cabbage and slice in half lengthwise. Cut each half lengthwise again so that you have 4 quarters. Slice each quarter crosswise into shreds, about ½-inch thick.
- Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and heat for a few seconds. Stir in minced garlic and heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. With a slotted spoon, remove beef from the marinade and add to the skillet, reserving the marinade. Stir-fry beef just until it turns pink, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer beef to a bowl and briefly set aside.
- Heat remaining tablespoon of oil. Add onions and stir-fry until onions begin to soften, about 3-4 minutes. Add the cabbage and stir just until cabbage wilts, about 3-4 minutes. Return beef back to the skillet, along with the reserved marinade and water cornstarch mixture. Stir until sauce thickens and beef is cooked through. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Serve with rice and garnish with additional scallions and sesame seeds.
