Black bean beef is one of our regular dinners.  Most of the ingredients are ones that we get at the farmers’ market.  It’s flexible, a great way to use whatever vegetables are on hand.  It freezes well, so I make enough to have a couple of lunches later.

I know that the ingredients list looks long.  I’ve broken it into sections for ease of putting it together.  It’s really pretty quick.

Ingredients

Beef and marinade

• 1 pound beef roast, sliced into thin strips
• 2 tbsp beef broth
• 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp cornstarch

Sauce

• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp black bean paste
• 1 tbsp garlic-chili paste (optional)
• 1 tsp cornstarch

Vegetables

• 1 large onion, cut into 1″ chunks
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 bell peppers, cut into 1″ chunks

Aromatics for stir-frying

• 3 tbsp peanut oil, divided
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, white parts only, sliced thinly (save the green parts and chop them for garnish, if desired)
• 8 oz white mushrooms, sliced

Directions

First, make the marinade.  In a small bowl, combine the beef and marinade ingredients, adding the cornstarch last.  Let marinate for 20 minutes.

Then, make the sauce.  In a small bowl, combine the broth, soy sauce, black bean paste, and optional garlic-chili paste.  Set it aside.

Next, stir-fry the vegetables.  Pour 2 tbsp of peanut oil into the wok.  Add the onion, bell peppers, and carrots.  Stir-fry 2-3 minutes, until crisp-tender.  Remove the vegetables from the wok and set aside.

Stir-fry the beef.  Pour 1 tbsp of peanut oil into the wok.  When hot, add the garlic and green onions, and stir-fry 30 seconds until fragrant.  Add the beef and stir-fry until mostly cooked, about 4-5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until the beef is fully cooked.  Create a space in the middle of the wok and add the sauce, then stir together.  Bring the sauce to a boil, then add the reserved vegetables.  Mix well and remove from heat.

Serve with steamed rice, and garnish with scallions (if desired).

Notes

This comes together pretty quickly.  My steps, in order:

1. Start the rice cooking in the rice cooker.
2. Slice the beef, put it in a bowl, pour over the marinade ingredients, stir it together, toss it in the fridge.
3. Make the sauce, set it aside.
4. Chop the veggies, set them aside.
5. Check on the rice.  My rice cooker gives me a time-remaining indication about 10 minutes before it’s done.  Usually, by the time I’ve gotten to this point, the rice is close to done.  If not, then I’ve got a few extra minutes to do something else.  This is also the point that I make sure that we’re actually ready for dinner (that is, is everyone home?).  Since the actual cooking time is so short, and since the rice can stay happily in its rice cooker after it’s done for hours and hours, and since the beef can continue marinating, it’s not a problem if I’m ahead of the game.
6. Cook the veggies, then cook the beef and mushrooms, and finally stir it all together.

Living in Silicon Valley means that it’s pretty easy to get Asian ingredients.  Black bean paste and chili-garlic paste (sometimes called sambol olek, but it’s got other names too) are available at Whole Foods.

My wok came from the Wok Shop in San Francisco, and it’s so immensely useful.  You can do this in a large skillet, but it takes longer and doesn’t quite taste the same.

I love my rice cooker more than anything.  I’m generally not a fan of special-purpose kitchen appliances, but this is awesome: rinse the rice, put it in the rice-cooker’s bowl, add the water, and hit start.  Nothing more is necessary, and you get absolutely perfect rice every time.  It will keep the rice perfectly steamed if you accidentally start your rice too early, and it’s got a timer too in case you want to set it up to cook in advance.