Gingered Skirt Steak with Snow Peas

Thank you for all your Swiss Chard recipes last week! I can't wait to make some of them with all my chard. Hopefully this weekend I will have a chance to experiment!

I think our pea season is officially over! It has just been way too hot lately and the plants are starting to get dried out. I'm going to have to take them down this weekend. We haven't gotten any sugar snap peas for a while (I planted those a couple weeks earlier than the snow peas), but the snow peas have been pretty heavy until the past couple days.

I realized last night that I hadn't shared any recipes that I've made with the snow peas. At this point I was already at least half way through making dinner, the kitchen was a wreck and the kids were at each other's throats (do you just adore sibling love?). Speaking of the kids - Madeline loves sugar snap peas and snow peas. It was really fun for her to pick them and eat them. A couple weeks ago I planted seeds of Purple French Beans to replace the spring peas since I knew they'd be coming to an end soon.

Back to the dinner...I'm frantically getting out the camera to attempt a few photos so I can share this recipe with you, because it turned out to be delicious! I only wish I could have enjoyed it without feeling so rushed and the kids being so crazy. But I will definitely be making this again! I'll just have to use frozen snow peas next time.

I'm not 100% happy with the photos. I really prefer to do this kind of thing in the late afternoon when Madeline is napping and Logan is either at school (during the year) or having quiet time. At one point during snapping I'm telling someone to go to their room for who knows what. It definitely wasn't a good evening last night! Thank goodness today is Friday and a brand new day!

For a veggie version, just bump up the amounts of vegetables and omit the beef. You could even use different colored peppers - like red and yellow for extra color. It might be fun to use sugar snap and snow peas too, or add asparagus.

Gingered Skirt Steak with Snow Peas, Mushrooms, and Peppers
inspired by Beef and Snow Peas with Panfried Noodles

• 1 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 1/4 cup water
• 5 ounces pound snow peas
• 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms
• 1 large red bell pepper, sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger (I use a microplane zester)
• 1 pound skirt steak, thinly sliced across the grain (flank would work too)
• 1/2 teaspoon each black and white sesame seeds
• salt and pepper, to taste
• freshly cooked jasmine rice
  

Combine the oyster sauce through water in a small bowl. Whisk until well mixed and any lumps from the cornstarch are dissolved. In a medium sized bowl, pour the sauce over the steak. Let marinade while you prepare the next few steps.

Prepare the rice according to package instructions. Thinly slice the mushrooms and peppers, set aside. Grate the ginger.

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a wok over high heat. Remove the beef from the sauce (leaving the sauce in the bowl for later) and cook the beef in batches, about 1/4 at a time. Cook the beef in a single layer for a minute, then turning and cooking for another minute or until cooked through. Place the cooked batches on a plate or bowl until you are finished. Return all the beef to the pan, add the ginger, and stir fry for a minute or two - until fragrant.

Once the beef is cooked, remove it all from the pan. Add a teaspoon of oil to the pan. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender. Add the bell pepper and saute for a minute. Add the peas and saute another minute.

Return the beef to the pan, add additional sauce (if desired) and cook until bubbling and thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately over hot rice.

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