Szechuan Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

Another big freeze has hit the mid-west. The freezing rain began yesterday afternoon, continued into the night, and started again this afternoon. As of now, it is not as bad as last winter’s ice storm when we lost several trees, and other trees suffered a lot of damage. Today’s high was 21°F (-6°C), with a forecasted low of 13°F (-11°C). There is also snow forecast for tonight, which on top of all this ice will be treacherous.

We Brits are often accused of being obsessed with the weather, and it’s true, but that’s because the weather in Britain is awful most of the time. Oklahomans are equally obsessed with the weather, but that’s because we seem to suffer such extremes of it. Baking hot and humid in the summer, and perishingly cold in winter, with tornadoes an ever present threat in spring and fall.

Also, Oklahoma seems to grind to a halt in snow or icy conditions, as they don't bother gritting/salting or plowing the road. Well, not round here they don't. And to make matters worse, the power seems to go out at the drop of a hat, though that hasn’t happened yet. Fingers crossed.

Anyway, I’ll type faster, just in case. So what’s the recipe for today, Jan?
Hubby’s company gave him a box of steaks as part of his Christmas bonus, and to be honest, neither of us are huge fans of steak. Most of them will be chopped up and included in other recipes, such as this one.

Breaking News - In the time it's taken me to type this, it's begun snowing, very heavily. Brrr.

Szechuan Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry


Ingredients:

2 steaks, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped, divided
1 broccoli crown, cut into florets
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 beefsteak tomato, cut into wedges
½ cup Szechuan sauce
¼ cup water

Directions:

• In a wok or large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over a medium-high heat. Add steak and half of the garlic, and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Remove beef and garlic from the pan, and keep warm.
• In same wok/skillet, heat remaining oil over a medium heat. Add onion and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add garlic, stir-fry 1 minute. Add broccoli, 1 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Cover pan with foil and cook for two minutes.
• Add Szechuan sauce, ¼ of a cup of water, tomato wedges stir-fry for 2 minutes. Return beef to pan and stir-fry for a further minute.

Serve over Basmati rice.