Eye for a Recipe

This is a delicious recipe from Food and Wine that combines spicy beef with fresh greens and herbs. The ingredient list may seem long, but the dish comes together quickly once you have everything ready to go.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I have never been able to find additive-free oyster sauce, so I make my own. The recipe is below. Use tamari instead of soy sauce because it contains alcohol as a preservative instead of sodium benzoate. I use Cock brand fish sauce and Marukan rice vinegar.

Marinate beef for 20 minutes

Combine salad ingredients

Sear the beef quickly

Shaking Beef

Ingredients:

Oyster Sauce

1 ½ tablespoons (25 ml) soy sauce

1 tablespoon (15 ml) sugar

1 ½ teaspoons (7 ml) cornstarch

Beef

1 ½  tablespoons (25 ml) oyster sauce, plus more to taste

1 tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce

1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) granulated sugar

1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) cornstarch

1 teaspoon (5 ml) fish sauce

½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) freshly ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 ½ pounds (680 g) boneless rib eye steak or New York strip steak, trimmed and cut into ¾ – to 1-inch pieces (1.9- to 2.5-cm)

Salad

¼ cup (60 ml) thinly sliced red onion or shallot

2 tablespoons (30 ml) water

1 ½ tablespoons (25 ml) unseasoned rice vinegar

1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) granulated sugar or honey

1/8 teaspoon (0.65 ml)  fine sea salt

1/8 teaspoon (0.65 ml) freshly ground black pepper

4 cups (1 L) lightly packed watercress, baby arugula, or other salad greens

1 cup (250 ml) torn radicchio or 8 halved cherry tomatoes

¼ cup (60 ml) fresh mint, basil, or other herb leaves, torn

2 tablespoons (30 ml) canola oil or other neutral oil (such as grapeseed)

Preparation:

Make the oyster sauce

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Make the beef

Stir together oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, fish sauce, pepper, and garlic in a medium bowl. If a saltier finish is desired, add up to 1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) more oyster sauce. Add beef, toss well to coat, and let marinate 20 minutes at room temperature.

Make the salad

Rinse onions in a strainer under cold running water for about 10 seconds; set aside. Whisk together 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add onion; top with watercress, radicchio, and herbs. Do not toss.

Heat a large, heavy skillet over high, and add oil. When oil is shimmering, carefully add beef in a single layer. Cook, shaking pan every 30 to 60 seconds, until seared on all sides and meat reaches desired degree of doneness, 3 to 4 minutes for medium-rare. Remove from heat. Quickly toss salad, and transfer to a platter or serving dish. Pile cooked beef and juices on salad, and serve immediately. Serves 4.

From Food and Wine

This recipe from Canadian Living calls for udon noodles — thick white flour noodles used in Japanese cuisine — but any long pasta goes well with this medley of seafood and vegetables.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure the seafood has no sulfites added and that the scallops are dry – meaning they are untreated with preservatives and sear well. I can’t find additive-free oyster sauce, so I have included a recipe below.

Use the larger, "dry" scallops and pat the seafood dry with a paper towel before cooking

Cook the seafood and set aside

Stir fry remaining ingredients and add the seafood back in to heat through

Stir-fried seafood noodles

Ingredients:

4 tsp (18 ml) vegetable oil

225 g jumbo shrimp, (21 to 25 count), peeled and deveined

225 g jumbo scallops, (20 to 40 count), patted dry

1 tbsp (15 ml) minced peeled fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 pkg (each 200 g) fresh udon noodles

4 heads Shanghai bok choy, (about 450 g total), cut in ½ -inch (1 cm) wedges

2 cups (500 ml) sliced stemmed shiitake mushrooms

1 sweet red pepper, thinly sliced

2 green onions, sliced diagonally in ½ -inch (1 cm) thick pieces

2 tbsp (30 ml) oyster sauce (see recipe below)

¼ tsp (1 ml) pepper

Oyster sauce

1 ½ tbsp (25 ml) soy sauce

1 tbsp (15 ml) sugar

1 ½ tsp (7 ml) cornstarch

Preparation:

Pat shrimp and scallops dry with a paper towel. In large nonstick skillet or wok, heat half of the oil over medium-high heat; cook shrimp and scallops, stirring frequently, just until shrimp are pink and scallops are opaque, about 3 minutes. Remove to plate; set aside.

In same skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat; cook ginger and garlic, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add noodles, bok choy, mushrooms, red pepper, green onions and 2/3 cup (150 ml) water; cook, stirring, until noodles are softened, about 4 minutes. Add shrimp, scallops, oyster sauce and pepper; cook, stirring, until combined. Serves 4.

From Canadian Living

This delicious stir fry from Epicurious.com combines steak, vegetables and noodles with a tangy sauce. The recipe calls for soba (buckwheat) noodles, but you can use any long noodle. I also substituted red pepper for the carrot.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Check the almonds for preservatives. I make my oyster sauce from scratch (see recipe below) and use tamari instead of soy sauce. Marukan rice vinegar and Emile Noel sesame oil are additive free.

Fry the steak

Saute the vegetables

Add the sauce

Steak and Noodle Stir Fry

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons (30 ml) sliced almonds

8 ounces (250 g) soba (Japanese-style noodles), spaghettini or spaghetti

Kosher salt

1 teaspoon (5 ml) plus 3 tablespoons (45 ml) vegetable oil

12 ounces (375 ml) skirt or flank steak

Freshly ground black pepper

2 scallions, whites and greens separated, chopped

4 medium garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon (15 ml) grated peeled ginger

2 heads baby bok choy, quartered

1 medium carrot, peeled, thinly sliced on a diagonal

3 tablespoons (45 ml) oyster sauce (see recipe below)

3 tablespoons (45 ml) reduced-sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons (45 ml) unseasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon (15 ml) toasted sesame oil

Oyster sauce

1 ½ tbsp (25 ml) tamari

1 tbsp (15 ml) sugar

1 ½ tsp (7 ml) cornstarch

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spread out almonds on a small rimmed baking sheet; toast, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Let cool and set aside.

Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain; rinse to cool and set aside.

Heat 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season steak with salt and pepper and cook until charred in spots, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest 10 minutes. Thinly slice against the grain.

While steak rests, wipe out skillet and heat 3 tablespoons (45 ml) vegetable oil over medium heat. Add scallion whites, garlic, and ginger. Stir until softened, about 1 minute. Add bok choy and carrot. Cook, tossing occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.

Whisk oyster sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and ½ cup (125 ml) water in a small bowl. Add to vegetables; bring to a simmer. Fold in scallion greens and reserved almonds and noodles. Serve steak with noodle stir-fry. Serves 4.

From Epicurious.com