Beef and Broccoli

This is a quick supper and has so much flavour…

First you will need:

  • 1 lb thin cut of beef sliced across the grain into strips
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp raw sugar
  • 1 tsp tamari
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking soda

I found the most amazing tip somewhere on the internet a while back. I usually don’t like beef strips because they often turn out tough and chewy, however, adding a tsp of basking soda to the marinade makes all of the difference. The beef is tender, soft and absolutely perfect! However, very important.. don’t leave it in the marinade for more than 30 min!!

While the beef is marinating, make the sauce and prepare 4-5 cups of broccoli florets.

For the sauce

  • 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1 tsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp Tamari
  • 1 tbsp minced ginger
  • 2 tbsp water

Add an 1-2 inches of oil to your wok for deep frying, and in batches, deep fry the beef for about a minute until golden brown and set aside.

When the beef is done, pour all but about 2 tsp of oil out of the wok and heat back up…

To the hot wok add 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced and one chopped onion and stir fry until the onion is translucent.

Add the brocoli and cook until it has changed colour but is still has crunch to it.

Add the sauce to the broccoli and cook down for a min or two and then thicken the sauce with a mix of 2 tsp of cornstarch and 2 tbsp of water…

Add the beef and you are done…

You can serve this on rice, as I believe most people do, but we like it on its own…

Beef and Broccoli

Meat and Sweet Potato pie

When I was in BC last year, Annie brought me to an amazing little restaurant in Prince-Rupert. On the menu was a “Cajun Pie” that was absolutely delicious. I asked what was in it and when I got home I took some of the flavours that I loved that were in it and made it my own… I have made it quite a few times now and finally wrote down the proportions to share…

Because the boys are mixed on “spicy” I found a way to have all the flavour without the spice. Of course, if you like it spicy, add some cayenne to the spice mix or right to your plate.

For 2 pies (one feeds our family and the other is lunch or frozen for an easy supper)

  • 3 lbs of ground pork
  • 1 large sweet Potato (peeled and cut into small cubes)
  • 1 red pepper (chopped)
  • 1 large onion (chopped)

For the spice mix:

  • 3 Tbsp minced Garlic
  • Tbsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp Chili powder
  • 3 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp white pepper (not black pepper, the flavour of the white pepper is important)
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp mixed spice (nutmeg/cinnamon/allspice/ginger/clove)
  • Crust for 2 pies

Mix all of the ingredients of the spice mix together to form a paste.

spice paste for Meat and sweet potato pie

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large pot, brown the meat and set aside. In the same pot as the meat was browned, add a bit of oil then add onion, sweet potatoes and red peppers and cook until soft. Add a bit of water to deglaze the bottom and then add the spice mix and add the meat back. Mix well so that all of the spices are incorporated and then make sure the seasoning is right by tasting.

Fill two pie dishes with the meat mixture, cover with pie crust and use a fork to pierce the pie all over. You can also put an egg wash over the crusts.

Bake for 45 min until Golden brown.

Meat and sweet potato pie

Uncle Marc’s Roasted Sirloin Tip…

In the past, on New Years day, we would head to my grandmother’s house and have supper there.

Every year my uncle would prepare a Roast Beef. I would sit in the kitchen and talk to him and watch him while the others sat in the living room. When I moved out on my own, I started to make his recipe and I have never looked back. It is not exactly his recipe anymore as it has evolved, and I have made it my own, but it is inspired from his…

This is meant for a Sirloin tip roast or simular. I’ll share my recipe for a rib roast soon…

Take the roast out of the Fridge at least an hour before you want to start roasting it.

In a small bowl combine…

  • Equal parts of Dijon Mustard and Butter. (about 1/3c of each)
  • Add a good dose of coarsely ground pepper (about 2 Tbsp)
  • A Tbsp of Kosher Salt if a bit more according to taste.
  • a Tbsp of Garlic powder

Then, add flour to the mixture until it becomes a thick paste and set aside.

Heat the oven to 500F

In a shallow pan, place some whole carrots on the bottom creating a rack and place the roast on the carrots.

If the roast has a fat layer, you want the fat side up.

Lather the mixture on top of the roast. (you can wet your hands to make this easier)

Sprinkle a bit more salt and pepper on top for good measure…

Place an oven proof thermometer in the roast for optimal results. It takes so much of the guess work out of the equation and the roast ends up perfect each time!

Place in the hot oven, let bake for 10 min at 500 and then put the temp down to 350. Bake until the roast is at the desired temp, not forgetting the temp will rise while sitting.(for a med-rare roast I take it out at 135F)

Let sit for 15-20 min before serving.

roast beef with dijon mustard crust

Serve with Mashed Potatoes and gravy (my favourite Red wine/Rosemary gravy recipe to come soon) for a perfect winter meal…

Beef, noodle, veggie Pho… yummy…

This is just one of those non recipes… Most of my cooking is made this way…

Today.. It started with this…

Beef for Pho

A few beef shanks, bones and some slightly freezer burned steak roasting in a pan with a few onions…

Then after a bit more than an hour the stock was started with the roasted beef and onion, all the pan drippings, two heads of garlic, a few large pieces of ginger, star anise, carrots and a few stalks of celery and then covered with water…

Beef Stock for Pho

After a few hours of simmering, I let it cool, adjusted the seasonings (a bit of tamari and garlic powder were perfect) and then skimmed the fat and strained it leaving a beautiful and fragrant beef broth…

The wok came out and in went a bit of peanut oil and thinly sliced beef marinated in Hoisen sauce for a few seconds, then set it aside…

Then a bit more peanut oil went into my wok along with ginger, garlic, Chinese cabbage, thinly cut celery, carrots and bean sprouts… I added a few ladles of stock and covered until cooked but not soggy… and then set that aside also…

A few toy choy went into the wok… and then in a bit of water with a bit of Tamari and some noodles while I reheated the broth…

When everything was ready, the noodles went into the bowl… then the veggies, the beef and the toy choy with a a few ladles of broth on top…

A squeeze of lime, a bit of Sriracha Chile sauce and it was perfect…

Beef, Noodle and Veggie Pho

A hearty bowl of delicious goodness…

Go to Top