One simple technique turns this stir-fry recipe into a winner

Who knew that our readers wanted to know how to brown ground beef? And with the bonus of retaining moisture and not ending up with a puddle of gray water in the skillet. The emails I got and the fact that column at one point was the third highest trending on dailyherald.com told me. It was truly surprising.

The idea of adding a small amount of baking soda and salt to ground beef before browning was simple enough. I did not invent the process. Reading about Asian cooks “velveting” proteins in their dishes was just the right clue.

Changing protein’s pH by using a few cents of baking soda seemed simple enough. That process ultimately led me to a great way to use less expensive, tougher proteins and quickly and inexpensively make them palate-pleasing. Here’s my story.

The week after that column appeared, I found some fresh shiitake mushrooms at my farmers market and some good-looking organic sugar snap peas at the supermarket. A frozen skirt steak from locally raised, all-grass-fed beef in my freezer made me believe I could turn everything into something special.

As I was slicing the steak into strips and whisking together the marinade, I realized that I could add a teaspoon of baking soda to the marinade. This dissolves the baking soda and makes it easy to distribute it around the meat. In it went.

Using peanut oil (roasted peanut oil if I can find it) makes my Asian stir-frys extra tasty. I love sugar snap peas, too. It does not seem so, but sugar snaps with the stem end trimmed and the tough string removed from the peas’ side are easy to eat, even uncooked. Finding those very fresh, locally grown shiitake mushrooms made this dish extra special.

I used my old (40-plus years) steel wok to cook the onion and garlic and set them in a bowl on the side. Then, the snap peas and mushrooms went in. And when the mushrooms wilted and the snow peas were just past bright green, I added them to the bowl with the onions. Next, I added the marinated beef to the pan and noticed a difference from my usual stir-fries. The meat browned beautifully. Once the beef just lost its pink color, I returned everything to the pan. The cornstarch did its job, and the juices thickened nicely.

How did it taste? Wow! Nuanced, sweet and flavorful. And, just as I’d hoped, the beef was very tender.

I can’t wait to try this with other proteins, like chicken or pork, in stir-fries with baking soda added to the marinade.

This also taught me one more thing: it’s easier to distribute baking soda evenly with meat if it’s dissolved in a liquid. The next time I’m working with ground beef, instead of sprinkling baking soda over the meat and working it in, I’ll dissolve baking soda in 2 tablespoons of water and work that in.

Give it a try.

• • •

Beef, Sugar Snap Peas and Mushrooms

3 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (or wheat-free tamari)

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon bottled ginger juice (optional)

1 tablespoon corn starch (or potato starch)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 pound skirt steak, divided along the grain into 3-inch pieces and then cut across the grain into 1/8-inch-thick strips

2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced

1 medium onion, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, and then cut into strips

8 ounces fresh shitake mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed and discarded, caps cut crosswise into strips

12 ounces sugar snap peas (organic preferred), remove the stem and pull the string off the side, cut into bite-size pieces

3 tablespoons peanut oil

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil

To a medium bowl add the wine (or sherry), soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger juice, cornstarch and baking soda; whisking together until combined and the baking soda and cornstarch dissolve. Add the skirt steak strips to the bowl and stir and toss together until coated. Set aside.

While the steak marinates, prepare the garlic, onion, mushrooms, and snap peas.

Place a large iron skillet (or steel wok if you have one) over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. When hot, add the onions and garlic and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the onions soften and begin to color. Transfer to a large stainless-steel bowl. Set aside

Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet and when hot add the sugar snaps and mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms soften and the sugar snaps are bright green, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the onions.

Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet and, when hot, add the steak and marinating liquid from the bowl and sauté, separating the pieces until the steak loses its pink color.

Turn the skillet off, and add the onions, garlic, mushrooms, and sugar snaps back to the skillet. Drizzle the sesame oil over the mixture and stir and fold together until combined. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Nutrition values per serving: 374 calories(51 percent from fat), 21.2 g fat(5.3 g saturated fat), 13.8 g carbohydrates (11.4 net carbs), 6.3 g sugars, 2.4 g fiber, 27 g protein, 65 mg cholesterol, 1185 mg sodium.

– Don Mauer