Here’s a meal that comes together in a hurry, healthy and packs a punch with bold flavors. Thai food is probably my favorite kind of ethnic cuisine, though I don’t often cook thai at home, since when we go out to eat, it’s probably a good bet that we go Thai, since it is easy for me to find something gluten-free and safe to eat.
This dish has the traditional flavor of much Thai food, balancing spicy, sweet, salty and sour flavors, with some shortcuts, since I don’t have palm sugar or lemongrass on hand. When mixing the marinade and sauce, just taste as you go, and balance the flavors to your liking. The only trick on this meal is that you need 2 non-stick skillets cooking at the same time – one with beef, and the other with broccoli, and then you toss them together with the sauce at the end. The sauce is pretty thin, but I don’t think it needs thickening, and rice will soak up all that lovely sauce anyway.
Spicy Thai Beef & Broccoli
Serves 3 with rice.
6 Weight Watchers points per serving
4 points per cup of brown rice
Beef and Marinade
1 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp pepper
1 1/2 T light brown sugar
1 T fish sauce
3 T sherry
1 pound steak , trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips
Stir-Fry
2 T fish sauce
2 T brown rice vinegar
2 T water
2 T brown sugar
1 T Asian chili-garlic paste
3 cloves garlic , minced
1 T vegetable oil
1 small onion, sliced thin
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
Serve with: Brown Rice, wedges of lime
- Marinating the beef: Combine coriander, pepper, sherry, brown sugar, and fish sauce in large bowl. Add beef, toss well to combine; marinate for at least 15 minutes, but a few hours in the fridge is better.
- Stir-Fry: In small bowl, stir together fish sauce, vinegar, garlic, water, brown sugar, and chili-garlic paste until sugar dissolves; set aside.
- Heat 2 large non-stick pans over medium heat. You’ll need one pan with a lid. Heat 1.5 teaspoons oil in each skillet over medium heat until smoking; add beef to one skillet in even layer. Cook, without stirring, until well browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer beef to a bowl.
- At the same time the beef is browning, add the broccoli to the pan with lid. Sear broccoli for 2 minutes, then add 1/4 cup water to pan, cover and steam for 2 minutes.
- Transfer beef, broccoli and sliced onion to the beef skillet. Add sauce mixture, toss to coat, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Serve over brown rice.
The Whole Kitchen 