Easy Dish – Stir Fried Beef with Okra, Asparagus and Mushrooms

Stir fried okra with meat is also one of my favorite dishes.  I try to cook it once a week as okra are very good for our digestive system, plus many other health benefits. Here is an easy but yummy recipe for you.

Health Benefits of Okra:

See this link from OrganicFacts for more info on Okra nutrition facts.

Ingredients:

1. Beef (or chicken or pork)
2. Okra – Look for firm, brightly coloured pods. Avoid those that are limp or which have brown marks – they won’t be so fresh. The bigger they are, the tougher they are; around 7-10cm in lengh is best.
3. Asparagus (optional)
4. Mushrooms (optional)
5. If you prefer, can also add an onion to this recipe

Total cooking time about 20 minutes.

Prep time : 10 minutes

Step 1:

Cut your beef into chunks and marinate with :

1. soy sauce/salt – 1 tsp
2. garlic powder – 1 tsp
3. pepper/black pepper – sprinkle some
4. food wine – 1-2 tsp – this is optional. I like to use Chinese Rose Cooking Wine 玫瑰露酒, but you can skip this or use other white wine/sake
5. corn starch – 1 tsp – again, this is optional. Chinese stir fries like to include corn starch as it binds together the liquid ingredients in the marinade and seals them to the meat. And it creates a glossy finish to the marinade and sauce. Feel free to skip if you don’t have any.

Note 1: If you do not like (or cannot find) okra, you can skip okra but use the other ingredients listed. Chinese stir fried cooking is very flexible. 😉

Note 2: Okra does not give much taste, it has a mild flavour. When cutting them up, they will release some slimy substance and it is absolutely normal. But once you have cooked them using my recipe here, you won’t taste the slime at all.

Add all marinade ingredients

Mix well

Step 2:

Rinse asparagus.

Remove the hard and woody ends of your asparagus by simply holding the near end between your thumbs and forefingers, bend until it breaks. The asparagus automatically breaks between the woody ends and the fresh, juicy part.  Then chop the juicy part into chunks (about 1 inch).

After I snap off all the ends

Chop the juicy part into chunks

Step 3:

Rinse okra.

Cut and remove the tops and the tips.  Chop the middle parts into chunks (about 1 cm).

Chop the middle parts into chunks

Cooking time : 10 minutes

1. Slightly oil (use vege oil) your wok or sauce pan over high heat, wait for a minute to ensure wok and oil is hot enough, add beef.  Let it sit and fry for a minute or so until one side is brown before turning them to the other side.  Do NOT keep stiring at this stage.

One side of your beef should be brown before you turn them over.

2. When both sides of your beef are browned, change to low heat to prevent burning while you scoop them into a bowl to set aside.

3. Turn your stove to high heat again and add all vegetables. (If you choose to add onion to this recipe, you should add onion first and cook for a minute or two before adding other vege).

4. Stir the vege every 30 seconds or so to prevent burning (it’s called stir fried afterall, haha)

5. Cook for about 4-5 mins until the okra and asparagus become a little dark in green.  Don’t over cook them as they taste better when a little crunchy.

6. Pour all your beef back into the wok. Stir to mix for 1 minute.  All done!

All ready and serve!! Enjoy!!

You may also want to see my other post about:

Easy Dish – Stir Fried Zucchini

A more healthy way to eat rice