Cody Cooks, Simple Stir Fry Steak & Peppers

My last post of Cody cooking brought so many nice comments and encouragement for Cody. He’s definitely going to make some girl happy with his cooking prowess. And I’m more than happy to help in that category. But not too soon…he’s only 13 years old ladies.

Today, Cody is making stir fry beef and peppers. I wanted to do a meal that is very easy to prep. I also wanted to teach him a few things, like how to chop meat.

I always learned these things by watching my mother and then by doing. It was a little odd to try to articulate it. It’s a good thing that Cody’s a quick study.

I taught him how to peel and chop garlic. I see this chopping technique used a lot on the food network and though I don’t always chop this way, I showed him how. He’s pretty good that kid.

So here’s the stir fry recipe. It’s vewwwy, vewwwy, easy.

Start with:
2 pounds flank steak
3 large green peppers
2 large garlic cloves
2 tbsp vegetable oil

For steak marinade
2 large garlic cloves
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp vegetable oil

For stir fry sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce
2 tbsp mushroom soy sauce (or any dark soy)
2 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
black pepper to taste

Slice the steak thinly, like Cody did. Poor kid, took him forever but he did it! Once the steak is sliced, put in the steak marinade ingredients and set aside. Slice the green peppers in half and take out the seeds. Slice the peppers into think slivers, but not too thin. This was an art but Cody got the hang of it!

Chop up 2 large garlic cloves and place into a heated pan. But the oil in and heat through, stirring the garlic. It should start smelling grand!

Put in the steak on one side and cook. I like it a little bit rare but not too much. Once it’s cooked to your liking, turn it over to the other side. Now mix the stir fry sauce all together and pour it in slowly which the meat is cooking on the second side. Now this is where you have to watch. If you put too much for the sauce in, it will get soupy and I don’t like soupy stir fry. I like a well coated but dry stir fry.

But that’s just me.

In other words, use your discretion here!

Throw in the peppers. And are you ready? Stir, stir, stir. Don’t over cook. I take out a pepper after about 4 minutes and try it. If it’s done but slightly crunchy then it’s perfect.

What a great job that Little Cody did. He made this same dish a month later for his family and it was a hit. Of course, his mother Miss Karen called me once, or twice, or rather five times to get the directions again. That’s precisely why I’m writing them down…

So enjoy! Get your 13 year old in the kitchen today!

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