Sunday, July 15, 2012

"Special" Steak





Years ago, I remember going to a Chinese restaurant up in Bloomfield, Mi where they served what they called "Special Steak".  It was a stir fry of beef tenderloin, baby corn, straw mushrooms, something green, and something red in a brown gravy. I loved it and it's been haunting me for years.  The other day I decided to tackle this and came up with what I think is a pretty good clone of what I remember....and even if it isn't exact...it sure was good!!

1  1/2 pounds beef tenderloin steak
3 Tbl peanut or vegetable oil, divided
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Large handful of Chinese pea pods
4 green onions, sliced in 2 inch pieces
1  15 ounce can baby corn, each little cob cut in half
1  15 ounce can whole straw mushrooms
3 Tbl soy sauce
4 Tbl oyster sauce
 1  1/2 cups water mixed with 2 Tbl cornstarch to make a slurry for thickening
Cooked rice or Chinese wheat noodles for serving

 Slice the meat thinly, season with salt and pepper and then heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a very large skillet or wok. Brown the meat in batches and then reserve the pieces in a bowl.
In the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil and then add the red pepper and garlic and saute for a few minutes until the garlic becomes fragrant and the pepper softens a bit.
Drain and rinse the corn and mushrooms and add them to the skillet along with the pea pods and green onions.
Keeping the heat on high, stir in the browned steak, along with any accumulated juices.
Add the soy and oyster sauce and give everything a big stir.  Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cooked until the sauce thickens.
Serve over hot rice or noodles.


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