Beef and shiitake stir-fry

Tamara West

I love using dried mushrooms because they just have so much flavour — much more than fresh mushrooms. You must soak them in water (to rehydrate them) before using, and
the liquid that results makes an awesome mushroom stock, perfect for soups or risottos. This meal can be prepared in 20-30 minutes.

Ingredients

60 g	Shiitake mushrooms, dried, sliced* (Main)
600 g	Beef sirloin, use good quality steak, thinly sliced, at room temperature (Main)
2 Tbsp	Oyster sauce
2 Tbsp	Kecap manis, **
2 Tbsp	Soy sauce
1 Tbsp	Sesame oil
3 cloves	Garlic, minced
2 tsp	Fresh ginger, minced
1	Red chilli, finely chopped, optional
3	Spring onions, finely sliced
¼ cup	Fresh coriander, chopped, to garnish

Directions

1. Soak dried mushrooms in 1-2 cups of boiling water until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain mushrooms (you can keep the resulting mushroom stock for another use, like risotto, if you like) and gently squeeze out excess water.
2. Meanwhile, combine beef, oyster sauce, kecap manis, soy, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and chili (if using) and leave to marinate while the mushrooms are soaking.
3. Heat a drizzle of oil in a wok or your largest fry pan over high heat. Quickly stir-fry the mushrooms for 3-4 minutes until browned. Set aside.
4. Add another drizzle of oil and stir-fry the beef for 3-4 minutes until just cooked through. You may need to do this in two batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Add mushrooms back to the pan along with the sliced spring onion. Toss a few times to mix all ingredients together, then turn off heat. Garnish stir-fry with coriander and serve with steamed rice and greens.

Pantry notes

*Shiitake mushrooms are available from the International section of supermarkets or in Asian food stores.

**Kecap manis is a thick, sweet, sticky soy sauce that gives great flavour to stir-fries. It is available in the sauce or International sections of supermarkets and in Asian food stores.