Orange Sesame Beef and One Saucy Pan

You don’t know where your next treasure will turn up, do you? I have been on a hunt for a nice 1 to 1.5 quart sauce pan. Man, those babies are pricey aren’t they?

On a lark just before Thanksgiving we walked down to the local thrift shop on “Half Off Day.”  There amidst the knick-knacks, mismatched plates and other well worn kitchen items was this little blacken sauce pan with brass handle under what I can only describe as rubble. As I picked it up I was completely surprised by the nice heft, the bright interior and the hidden sheen of copper. I thought, this is nice. It will probably clean up pretty well… Let’s take it.  So, it came home with us for $2.50, unbelievable! Two-fifty, really!

This is a vintage Cop*R*Chef sauce pan, with a brass handle. It wasn’t until I got home and did some research did I realize my little treasure is worth quite a bit. Now, I am scared that this experience will spawn a whole new obsession. So, now you can see why I have been imagining and preparing so many sauces lately.  My pan has found me!

Now on with today’s recipe — Orange Sesame Beef
My boys love to order Hunan Beef, General Tsao’s Chicken and the like when we go out for Chinese food. This is my nod to those fabulous dishes.

Orange  Sesame Beef

Orange Sesame Beef
Serves four with rice

Ingredients
1 pound finely sliced beef (sirloin steak works well)
¼ cup cornstarch
Peanut Oil for frying
2 tbl Sesame Seeds
1 clove Garlic chopped
½ cup Green Onion, ½” slices diagonally
2 large Red Cayenne Peppers, cut into 1” pieces

Marinade
    2 tbl Rice Wine Vinegar
    ½ tsp Five Spice Powder
    ⅛ tsp Ground Red Pepper
    ⅛ tsp Granulated Garlic
    1 tbl Olive Oil
    1 tbl Low Salt Soy Sauce (Kimlan)
    1 tsp Orange Zest
Sauce
    Juice of 1 Orange (need about ¾ cup)
    1 tbl Orange Zest
    1 tbl Honey
    2 tbl Brown Sugar
    1 tbl Sriracha Chili Sauce
    1 tbl Low Salt Soy Sauce
    Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
    2 tbl Water   
    2 tsp Cornstarch
   
Prep
1. Thinly slice your steak into strips about ¾” x 2”. Put in zip lock bag or pan so that meat is in 1 layer.
2. Whisk together marinade ingredients and pour over meat, toss to coat. Let marinate at least 30 minutes. More than an hour the flavor will be too strong for this preparation.
3. Combine sauce ingredients (except cornstarch and water) in a bowl, whisk to combine, set aside.
4. Combine water and cornstarch in prep bowl, stir to blend thoroughly, set aside.

Directions
While your meat is marinating happily, pour your sauce mixture in a small sauce pan and heat to just a low boil, add the cornstarch mixture, stir as it thickens. Remove from heat. Taste and adjust for more orange or more red pepper heat to your liking.

Preheat peanut oil in wok or 10-12” fry pan to about 350 degrees (high heat, use frying thermometer if you need to be sure about temp.)
The oil should be about 1” deep to allow for a shallow deep fry.
Remove steak from marinade and drain (just enough so the strips are not soupy). Coat each strip completely with corn starch. Shake off excess before frying in oil. Fry strips in small batches that do not crowd the pan to ensure that they get crispy all over. Drain on paper towels.

This part goes fast. Make sure you have all your ingredients at hand.
When finished with the meat, pour oil from wok, return to burner add 1 tbl peanut oil, bring up to mid-high heat. Stir fry your cut up cayenne peppers until they just start to brown, add the garlic and green onions, continue to toss frequently otherwise the garlic will burn and taste awful. So far you may have been cooking 3 minutes! Add the sesame seeds next to toast – cook 1 minute and then add your cooked steak strips to wok, stir to combine all ingredients and pour in your sauce mixture. Just heat through and the edges of the sauce starts to boil – about 2 minutes more. Don’t over cook because either your sauce will burn or your crispy meat will get soggy.

Serve with rice or noodles.

Cook’s Tips
To make slicing your stir fry meat easy, freeze it for about 20 minutes before slicing. This style of cooking really requires that you do all your prep work in advance. Have patience in assembling your ingredients and enjoy the rush of a sprint to the finish!