Sesame Beef and Veggie Stir Fry

Stir-frys are a fun dish to play around with. You can easily omit the beef from this and make it vegetarian or let chicken, pork, or shrimp be a stand-in if you prefer. This particular recipe is heavy on veggies, which you can also change out to suit your tastes (or what you have in the fridge). If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m big into veggie-centric dishes and this one is no exception.

The kitchen prep here is mostly in the chopping, dicing, and slicing of the vegetables but you want everything ready to go because the whole dish comes together pretty quickly once you start cooking.

And don’t skip the velveting of the beef (or chicken, or pork) because it’s what keeps it tender and flavorful.

Sesame Beef and Veggie Stir Fry Recipe

Ingredients

Velveting Marinade for Beef:

• 1 lb. stir fry beef
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. corn starch

Noodles:

• 1 package (about 9.5 oz.) udon or soba noodles

Veggies:

• 6-8 cups of cut/sliced vegetables; in the dish shown, I used:
  • Portabello mushrooms, sliced
  • Asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • Sugar snap peas
  • Snow peas
  • Carrots, juilienned
  • Sweet peppers, sliced
  • Jalapeno, sliced
  • Scallions, sliced

For Cooking:

• 2 Tbsp. canola or grapeseed oil, separated
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled, smashed, and minced

Garnish:

• Sliced scallions
• Sesame seeds

Directions:

• Prep the beef by mixing it in a small bowl with the velveting marinade and let sit for at least 1 hour. If letting it sit longer than an hour, place in the fridge until ready to use. In the meantime, get your veggies assembled and cut.
• In another small bowl, add the sauce ingredients and whisk together well.
• Get a pot of water heating for your noodles and begin cooking according the package directions.
• Heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep-sided saute pan or wok.
• Add beef and saute about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Transfer beef to a plate.
• Add 1 Tbsp. oil to pan and heat 30 seconds.
• Add garlic and ginger and stir, cooking just a minute or two until slightly golden.
• Add vegetables; stir occasionally for about 5 minutes until all veggies are still crisp.
• Add the sauce. and cook 3 minutes.
• Add beef and any reserved juices on the plate; cook 2 more minutes.
• Drain cooked noodles and toss into pan with beef and veggie mixture.
• Cook 1 minute more.
• Place into bowls, garnish with scallions and sesame seeds, and serve.

This stir fry hits all the sweet, sour, and savory notes dead on. The beautiful thing about this dish is if you prep the veggies on the weekend, it’s actually a very fast weeknight dinner!

Don’t be afraid to swap out the veggies for ones of your choice here…it’s easy to make with a variety of vegetables.

What’s on your stir fry menu? Enjoy!