Beef Lok Lak

I have been continuing my accounting training at work and while last week made me want to pull out my hair, this week everything is really starting to make sense which makes me very happy.  It is a field I never thought I would enter but again it is just one more skill that I now have.  Happy Farmers Market week! Make sure and get out to support your favorite farmers market because they have really evolved to meet our needs which is highlighted in this article.  I am pretty excited for this evening because I will be hanging out with one of my good friends and we are going to go sailing with my parents and picnic on the dock.  Let's hope for wind!  I adapted this recipe and it was fabulous, filling and refreshing.  Not my garden tomatoes yet but the Persian cucumbers were courtesy of my wonderful coworker's garden.  Also I don't normally make food with this much sugar but it sure was good, plus most of the sugar is left behind in the marinade.  Enjoy!

Serves 2

The Ingredients

Beef and marinade:
1 lb beef sirloin, cut into bite size chunks
1⁄4 cup tamari
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fish sauce
3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil

To serve:
2 small tomatoes, sliced
1 cucumber, peeled and finely sliced
1⁄2 small red onion, finely sliced
Green cabbage, leaves torn off to use as wrappers

Dipping sauce:
Juice of a lime
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon water


The Process
1.  In a large bowl, mix beef with tamari, oyster sauce, ketchup, sugar, fish sauce, ground black pepper and garlic. Marinate at least 20 minutes or up to one hour.

2.  Make dipping sauce, combine ingredients in a small bowl-set aside.

3.  Decorate two dinner plates with sliced tomatoes, cucumber and onion. Set aside.  Place the cabbage leaves on a separate platter.

4.  Heat oil in a wok over a high heat and stir-fry beef until cooked about 5-7 minutes.  Divide between the two dinner plates.

5.  You eat it by wrapping portions of the meat and salad ingredients in a cabbage leaf, then dipping that in the dipping sauce.