Aretha Franklin was once asked what her greatest creative challenge was and her answer was surprising. “Trying to figure out what to cook for dinner… nightly.” The interviewer Larry London paused and laughed. Her honesty was refreshing and at the same time so endearing because it made you realize that even the queen of soul had to think about dinner.
That’s the problem with dinner; it’s so nightly. Even if you love to cook it’s easy to hit a creative challenge when planning so many meals. We all have a those five to ten recipes that we tend to make again and again. That’s why I’m always looking for new dinner inspiration. Sometimes I find it in a new cook book, newspaper article or food blog.
However, the inspiration for this steak and rice noodle stir-fry came from an Instagram story from Sally Potts. Sally has one of my favorite British home accounts. When I saw a quick video of a beef and green bean stir-fry, she had made for dinner one day I knew I had to make something like it. What I particularly loved about her dish was the idea of using green beans instead of the usual beef and broccoli.
Although I love broccoli, I have certain members of my family, who will remain nameless, whose taste buds can’t stand the thought of it. So, with that picture of garlic beef and green beans in mind I began to work on crafting a stir-fry recipe that everyone in my family would love. I worked to create a sauce that was flavorful, but not as spicy as some Thai dishes so my kids would be able to enjoy it too.
Then one night after serving it over rice a couple of times I decided to try rice noodles. I was running short on time and as they say sometimes “necessity is the mother of invention.” In this case my short cut really ended up putting the dish over the top. My whole family was raving how much they loved these noodles with the sauce. So now I’ve been making it with rice noodles because I had to agree the noodles were so delicious. How had I not thought of that before?
So, if you too have found yourself wondering what should I make for dinner tonight? Then I have a recipe that hits all the right notes for a delicious weeknight dinner- my garlic steak and green bean stir-fry.
Garlic Steak and Green Bean Stir-fry – Serves 4 to 5
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1¼ lbs tip steak or stir-fry beef, thinly sliced against the grain
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 small yellow onion, sliced into thin strips
- 1½ cups green beans, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon, sesame oil
- 4 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup beef stock
- 1 (8 oz) package of instant rice noodles (I like the MAMA brand)
First, prepare the ingredients. If slicing the steak yourself, place it in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes. Freezing the beef makes creating thin slices much easier. Then peel the garlic and create thin slices from the whole clove. Slice the onions in half and then into thin strips and cut the green beans in bite sized pieces.
Next, blanch the green beans and boil water for the noodles. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Place the green beans the boiling water for a 1½ to 2 minutes. Remove the beans from the water with a slotted spoon and set aside. Then place more water on to boil for cooking the rice noodles.
Then make the stir-fry. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat then add the beef and cook until browned. Set the beef aside on a plate while cooking the vegetables.
Add the last tablespoon of vegetable oil and a teaspoon of the sesame oil and add the garlic, onions and green beans until the onions begin to turn translucent and the green beans are tender.
Finally, create the sauce and serve. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce and beef stock and stir. Return the beef to the pan to heat through. Then prepare the rice noodles according to the package instructions. Place the noodles on the plates or bowls. Spoon the sauce on top of the noodles and top with the steak stir fry.
These garlic steak noodles are a fast and fun meal. They’re sure to get you out of any what’s for dinner dilemma.
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