Beef with Snow Peas

Beef with Snow Peas is one of those dinners I look forward to all week! It’s one of my favorites. The tender steak is sliced super thin, marinated with garlic and soy sauce, and then paired with vibrant, crisp snow pea pods. This makes for a filling, yet light meal. I love it served over fluffy rice or steamy noodles, with extra sauce for drizzling.

This Asian-inspired dish uses regular ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. No complicated spices or anything. It’s mild enough for the young ones in your family too – my kids love the snow peas and eat them plain. This is a quick, healthy dinner for even the busiest of weeknights!

Ingredients

• Low Sodium Soy Sauce – You can use regular soy sauce if you like, but low sodium tastes just as good and keeps the salt content down.
• Chicken Broth – Again, you can use low sodium broth if you want. This also tastes delicious with beef broth or even vegetable broth.
• Garlic – Two cloves garlic, or a couple of tablespoons minced garlic.
• Beef Sirloin Steak – For this beef with snow peas recipe I like to use a couple of good beef sirloin steaks and slice them as thinly as possible with a sharp knife. But flank steak or skirt steak will work wonderfully too. The longer you marinate the sliced meat, the more tender and flavor-filled it becomes. For even more tender steak, make sure to slice against the grain, and very thin. The slices of steak will cook up really fast and are never tough.
• Cornstarch – Mix together with a bit of cold water or soy sauce mixture to thicken up the rest of the marinade for a delicious sauce.
• Fresh Snow Peas – You can find them in the produce section of the grocery store. They’re yummy to eat in this recipe or alone.
• Canola Oil – for sautéing

All About Snow Peas

Snow Peas are similar to sugar snap peas. The whole crispy pod can be cooked and eaten or eaten raw. Plus they’re so good for you! Snow peas are a terrific source of vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, iron, magnesium, and other nutrients. I love them on top of a green salad or in stir fry recipes like this beef with snow peas.

When cooked on a high heat for a good minute or two, they turn a bright green. Snow peas add a sweet flavor and crunchy texture when they aren’t overcooked. Just chop the tops and bottoms of the pea pods off and cook for just a couple of minutes. Perfection.

How to Make Beef with Snow Peas

1. First, add all your cooking liquid into a small bowl. Mix the soy sauce, broth and garlic together and save about a quarter cup.
2. Place the rest of the liquid along with the meat into a resealable bag. Store the bag of meat mixture in the refrigerator on a clean plate for at least an hour.
3. Create a cornstarch slurry with the remaining soy sauce mixture, and whisk until smooth. Place cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir in reserved soy sauce mixture until smooth; set aside.
4. Using a wok or a large heavy skillet, stir-fry the snow peas in about two teaspoons of hot vegetable oil or olive oil over medium high heat until the snow peas are bright green and crisp-tender.
5. Set the snow peas on a separate plate and cover to keep warm.
6. Drain and discard marinade from beef. In same skillet, add beef pieces with tongs and stir-fry beef in remaining oil for 2 minutes.
7. Stir cornstarch mixture; add to skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened.
8. Add the snow peas back in and serve over white rice, long grain rice, or brown rice.

Additions and Variations

This simple beef dish can be jazzed up in all sorts of ways. Try some of these additional ingredients to enhance the dish and make the most out of your meal:

• Diced or shredded carrots
• Sliced zucchini
• Bell peppers
• Whole scallions
• Broccoli
• Season with kosher salt, black pepper, basil or other herbs.
• Garnish with toasted sesame seeds