LEFTOVERS - the bane of my existence! Especially when paired with an empty fridge, these are my nemeses. I am coming out of one stretch of not being home to cook and going into another, SO I challenged myself tonight to work with only what I have here at the house in a quick dish. The "quick" part is another challenge.
The star ingredient tonight is the last of a London broil which produced some really good french dip sandwiches a couple nights ago (That's the "twice cooked" part). This was dipped into a chili oil egg wash and stir fried with vegetables in a rich, spicy sauce. I dropped another egg into the remains of this egg wash with some scallions to make a thin omelet with which to wrap up the ingredients. I'm very happy with the result, but I created more leftovers. Oh well, such is life.
THE RECIPE
1/2 pound roast beef (or any other protein, in any quantity you want), julienne sliced
2 eggs
2T Shaoxing wine
Several dashes chili oil (start out with just a little if you are unfamiliar with this ingredient)
3-4T corn starch, more as needed
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 carrot, matchstick cut
1-2 ribs celery, matchstick cut
1/2 large onion, 1/4 inch slices
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced on the bias
Corn or peanut oil for frying (approximately 4T)
3 ounces bamboo shoots, julienne sliced
1T dark soy sauce
2T kejap manis (sweet / spicy Indonesian soy condiment)
1T Garam masala curry paste
2T Shaoxing wine
2-3T water, or as needed
1t crushed red chili flakes
Steamed white rice or cooked rice / egg noodles
Heat a wok over a high flame. Add 2T oil and the first 4 vegetables. Cook until tender but not mushy. Remove to a plate and return the pan to heat.
Meanwhile, drop the beef pieces into the egg wash and drain, then dredge in the corn starch. Add 2T oil the heated wok and fry on all sides.
Add scallions to the egg wash; add another egg if need be. Whisk and cook in an omelet pan, turning once. Cut into quarters once cooked and set aside.
When the beef has been fried, add vegetables back to the pan. Add bamboo shoots and sauce ingredients, one at a time, stirring constantly. Add as much water as needed to thin them out to the consistency you like.
{This goes against convention for stir fry as we have cooked the protein last, but it was already cooked and we want the corn starch to thicken the sauce.}
Serve the dish beside or over the rice or noodles. Use the omelet pieces as a wrapper (similar to moo shu).
