Sweet and Sour Beef

Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes | Serves: 4

This tasty and healthy beef stir-fry can be on the table in 20 minutes. We use ready-made sweet and sour sauce to save time, but if you would like to make your own here is a recipe.

Ingredients

• 600 g beef rump or stir fry beef strips
• 300 g peeled pumpkin, cut into bite size pieces
• 300 g broccoli, cut into florets
• 2 tsp oil
• 4 green shallots, chopped
• 1 medium red capsicum, sliced
• 2 cups sweet and sour stir-fry sauce
• noodles or rice to serve

Method

1. Cut the beef across the grain into thin strips. Add a little oil and mix well. Steam or microwave the pumpkin pieces and broccoli until just tender.
2. Heat the wok, ensure it is hot. Stir-fry the beef strips in 3 batches, reserving each cooked batch to rest in a warm bowl. Reheat wok between each batch.
3. Reheat the wok, add oil and heat. Add the shallots and capsicum, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the cooked pumpkin, broccoli and sweet and sour sauce, stir-fry until sauce is hot. Return the beef to the wok, toss to combine. Serve with noodles or rice.

Tips

• Best beef cuts for stir-frying: Use beef stir-fry strips or prepare your own from rib eye/scotch fillet/tenderloin, sirloin/porterhouse/New York, rump, boneless blade, round, oyster blade or topside steaks.
• Cook meat in small batches, at a maximum of 250g at a time. When you add the meat to the wok, work from the outer side of the wok into the centre where it will be hottest.
• When stir-frying meat, wait at least 30 seconds before tossing or stir-frying so that the meat has a chance to sear and become brown. This gives the meat great colour and flavour.