I was saved by my own prize-winning recipe: Beef and Sugar Snap Peas with Ginger Sauce. Today had been hectic. I was baking non-stop. Several batches of buttery, rich, decadent dessert bars were going in and out of my oven throughout the day. We were leaving for a family wedding this weekend. I had an urgent request from my cousins and my nephew to bring the all-time family favorite “Food for the Gods” a dates-raisins-nuts-lots of butter bar. I got so carried away baking that I forgot to make dinner.
By the time I looked up from my mixing, it was after 5 pm. There was no supper ready. But on the bright side, I had ingredients all ready in the refrigerator. Rice was boiling in the rice cooker. All I needed to do was put everything together in the wok. And like all Filipino dishes, I was about to cook a dish that would look and taste splendid on a bed of boiled white rice.
This is what made this recipe for Beef and Sugar Snap Peas in Ginger Sauce a winner for any meal, weeknight or weekends. I whipped it up in an instant. This recipe of mine won 2nd prize in a contest sponsored by Gourmet Gardens for their Fresh Made Easy products. It helped me tremendously that Gourmet Garden had ready to use fresh ginger paste and garlic . That surely cut my prep time for a few minutes.
I made sure, though, to coat the beef with cornstarch. Then I watched the strips sizzle in the skillet, while the cornstarch helped sear and seal in the flavors. The savory scent of ginger and garlic in the sauce base was incredible. I tossed in the sugar snap peas and mixed it all together with the glistening beef, the dark, slightly thickened gravy. I gave it all a quick turn around the pan and in minutes supper was ready to be served. Thanks to Gourmet Garden’s Garlic and Ginger Paste, this truly was a ‘Weeknight Savior’!
Beef and Sugar Snap Peas in Ginger Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons corn oil
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Made Easy minced garlic paste
- 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Made Easy ginger paste
- 1 medium sliced onion
- 1 pound cut in 2-inch strips beef skirt steak (or sirloin)
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 2 cups stem edges trimmed sugar snap peas
- 1/2 cup canned drained, for garnish garbanzos (chick peas)
- for serving boiled white rice
- 1/2 teaspoon optional sea salt
Instructions
- Coat the beef strips with corn starch. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, over medium high heat, add the cooking oil. After oil has heated up in 1 to 2 minutes, add the garlic, ginger and onion.
- Add the beef strips to the skillet. Stir fry the beef together with the garlic, ginger and onion for 2 to 3 minutes. The beef strips will turn from pink to brown in color.
- Add the soy sauce and broth to the skillet with the beef. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes more till beef is cooked.
- Add the sugar snap peas. Blend the beef and vegetables together. Cook for 2 minutes more.
- If desired, season with a pinch of sea salt.
- Cook’s comments: this dish is versatile. Add vegetables in season or what is available ( I garnished with chick peas) or substitute with chicken strips if preferred, using the same sauce base. Serve with boiled white rice.
- Disclosure: Gourmet Gardens gave me the Fresh Made Easy (@FreshMadeEasy) products as part of the swag bag at The Big Summer Potluck 2013. This recipe was my entry to the Weeknight Savior recipe contest and won second prize. Thank you, Gourmet Gardens for the generous cash prize. Thank you, too, to Erika (@IvoryHut), Pam and Maggy (@threemanycooks) for your help with this recipe contest.
Love love all the flavors in this delicious recipe! Hubby would adore this, definitely need to pin it! Hope you are doing well:-). Sending hugs your way, Terra
Thanks, Terra. I am positive you will love the combined textures of crunchy veggies with velvety, tender beef in a savory Asian sauce. All’s well here. Hope your week is going well. Hugs back 🙂
Thanks, Terra. I am positive you will love the combined textures of crunchy veggies with velvety, tender beef in a savory Asian sauce. All’s well here. Hope your week is going well. Hugs back 🙂
I love this meal. I have snap peas in the fridge too. This may appear on our dinner table this week! I rarely use beef stock, but I have one and this is a great chance to use it. 🙂
Thanks, Nami. This was such an easy dinner to make in a few minutes. I highly recommend it to busy moms like you!
Can you give equivalent of other forms of garlic and ginger, as I don’t have the paste. Thanks 🙂 Sounds really good!
Hi Alisa. You can try substituting 4 cloves garlic, finely minced and a slice of fresh ginger, about half an inch then thinly cut up in matchstick slivers. Hope that helps. Thanks and let me know how your dish turns out 🙂
I made this yesterday. It was flavorful, but the meat was kinda chewy. I don’t know if it is because I used thicker cuts of meat, not the very thin kind like for tapa.
Hi Robby! The chewy slices have happened to me in the past. I make sure to slice the beef in thinner strips. Sometimes the meat cut also helps. Try sirloin or skirt steak. Let me know how it turns out. Thanks for the blog visit!
Hi Robby, I think if your stove top temperature is too hot, the beef will likely get tough. Try a medium heat when cooking this and thinner beef strips. Hope this helps you. Let me know how it turns out. Thanks for the blog visit 🙂