Black Pepper Beef with Green Beans

For my 24th birthday, my mom got me a carbon-steel wok and a stir-fry book (easy chinese stir-fries, helen chen). I really like cooking with the wok because everything cooks so fast.  So far, I've cooked six stir-fry dishes and they were all very tasty. Another great thing about chinese stir-fries is that many of the dishes use the same ingredients (sherry, fermented black beans, ginger, soy sauce..) so it's not expensive to cook.  I like this dish in particular because the black pepper gives it a nice kick.

                               Black Pepper Beef with Green Beans

The Ingredients...

• 1 pound green beans, ends snapped off and strings removed
• 3/4 pound flank steak, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 slices unpeeled fresh ginger
• 1 cup sliced onion

Directions...

1. Snap the green beans in half or thirds to make pieces about 2 1/2 inches long. Rinse in cold water and drain thoroughly.
2. Slice the steak with the grain into 2-inch wide long strips. Then slice the strips against the grain into  1/8-inch slices. In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, cornstarch, wine, sugar, and black pepper. Add the beef and mix well.
3. In a wok or stir-fry pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over high heat until the oil is hot, but not smoking. Test by dipping the spatula into the beef mixture and then into the oil; it should sizzle. Add the green beans and stir  for about 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup water and reduce the  heat to medium. Cover and cook until tender-crisp, 6 to 9 minutes. Transfer the beans and any liquid to a shallow dish.
4. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the same pan and raise the heat to high. Add the ginger and stir until the oil is hot and the ginger sizzles. Add the onion and stir constantly for 1 minute. Stir up the beef mixture and add it to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the beef is no longer pink, about 2 minutes.
5. Return the beans and any liquid to the pan and stir until thoroughly mixed and heated, about 30 seconds. Remove and discard the ginger, if desired, and serve immediately.

Note: Sometimes I substitute minced ginger for fresh ginger in these recipes.