Beef and Bok Choy Stir-Fry

I’m an impulse buyer when it comes to food magazines. They have such pretty pictures on the covers and tote headlines promising meals on the table in under half an hour; it totally sucks me in. Though I love browsing the more gourmet magazines, I have found that the ones typically in my hand at checkout time are Real Simple and Cooking Light. No matter what other magazines I’d browse on a whim, I always gravitate back to these two, mainly because I’ve had the most success finding recipes that have become staples in our repertoire. This magazine had a two-week meal planner and the Asian flavors of this recipe piqued our interest. The fact that is an easy, delicious recipe to prepare with only a few ingredients already stocked in our pantry is why it keeps returning to our household menu rotation.

I’ve modified the recipe because, while I’ve found the amount of meat sufficient, I was starving for more vegetables the first time around. We used the same amount of baby bok choy that is in the four-person recipe for our two-person dinner. The other change was that my husband, the sauce man, insisted that I keep the amount of sauce in the recipe the same versus halving it for our dinner. I’ve already made this dish several times, but, this last time, I also added leftover sliced button mushrooms that were in our fridge. I’d highly recommend adding them if you have some lying around. I’m pretty sure this has now become a permanent recipe amendment for our dinner table.

Beef and Bok Choy Stir Fry
Serves 2
Adaptd from Real Simple Magazine, October 2009

Ingredients
1/2 cup long-grain white rice
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound flank steak, thinly sliced
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
kosher salt and black pepper
4 heads baby bok choy, quartered
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions
Cook the rice according to the package directions. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Season the steak with 1⁄4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, turning often, until cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the steak to a plate.
Wipe out the skillet. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and saute until cooked down. Transfer onto the plate with the steak.
Add the bok choy and 1⁄4 cup water and simmer, covered, until tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and sugar. Add to the bok choy in the skillet and bring to a boil. Add the steak, mushrooms and any accumulated juices and cook, tossing, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve over the rice.