Life Without Alu?: Stir fried Sweet Chili Beef with veggies

We are going to have a puppy! It is finally happening. We have been planning and planning and we finally got a golden doodle. I can’t wait to start sharing what all he is doing. My daughter - Prisha has decided to name him Pickles. We brainstormed a lot of names and Prisha came up with some very creative ones - Potato Chips, Coco, Hugo, BasketBall, Cucumber, Biscuit all these names were strong contenders but we finally decided on Mr. Pickles.

Prisha has already started planning what all she is going to do with Pickles. We are having discussions every night at our dinner table of all the things we are going to do. We have already ordered all the important stuff that Mr. Pickles will need on a day to day basis.

And talking about the dinner table brings me to the main topic of today - Food! Weekdays are super busy with us now that both Debarshi and I are working and with Prisha going to school, we get very little time together in the evening. That time is a good family bonding time and I try to be creative with our dinner menu. Today on the Easy Weeknight Dinner menu we have (with drum roll please) - Stir fried Sweet Chili Beef with Veggies.

When I got this recipe from Hello Fresh, I was surprised by how quick and easy it was to make at home. It gave me the idea to buy the ingredients and make it at home whenever we want. However, buying the sauces proved to be a challenge. I found the Sweet Soy Glaze at Price Chopper but couldn’t find the Ponzu sauce anywhere. Finally I decided to use a substitute and it has worked amazingly. I use a Stir-fry sauce by kikoman and it tastes very much the same.

Making this recipe is pretty easy and I would recommend doing the prep beforehand. This is because the recipe comes together within minutes and you won’t get the time to prep at that time. The juicy ground beef is beautifully complemented by a sweet and spicy chili sauce and sweet soy glaze. Best part is because we don’t have to deep fry anything, it takes the pressure off as well.

The original recipe asked for Jasmine rice but we prefer to enjoy this dish with Basmati rice which is not sticky but very flavorful. You can choose whatever rice you like best and cook according to the package description.

Serve the yummy beef and veggies over a bed of rice for aromatic flavor. Enjoy with friends and family.

For the Rice:

Ingredients:

Rice - ½ cup
Butter - 1 tablespoon

Directions:

Wash Rice in a strainer, then transfer it to a medium sized pot.
Add about 2 cups of water.
Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes.
Press to check the rice is cooked completely then carefully transfer to the strainer so that all the starchy water is drained.
Transfer the cooked rice to a serving bowl and add the Butter in it.
Cover and let the butter melt.

For the Sauce:

Ingredients:

Sweet Thai Chili Sauce - 2 tablespoons
Kikoman Stir Fry Sauce - 1 tablespoon
Kikoman Sweet Soy Glaze - 2 tablespoons
Rice Vinegar - 2 ½ teaspoons
Sugar - ½ teaspoon

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine Sweet Thai Chili Sauce, Kikoman Stir Fry Sauce, Kikoman Sweet Soy Glaze, Rice Vinegar and Sugar.

For the Meat:

Ingredients:

Cooking Oil - 2 tablespoons
Scallions - 2, washed, trimmed, thinly sliced, whites and greens separated
Ground Beef - 10-15 ounces
Garlic Powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt - to taste
Freshly ground Black Pepper - to taste
Red Cabbage - 1 cup, shredded, washed
Carrot - 1, big, peeled, washed and grated
Crispy Fried Onions - ½ cup

Tip: Substitute Beef with Pork.

Directions:

Heat the Oil in a large pan over medium heat.
Add scallion whites and cook until just softened, 1 minute.
Add Beef and Garlic Powder; season with Salt and Pepper.
Using a spatula, press into an even layer.
Cook, undisturbed, until browned on bottom, 2-3 minutes.
Break up meat into pieces and continue cooking until beef is cooked through, 1-2 minutes.
Stir in sauce and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, 1 minute more.
Stir Red cabbage and Carrot mix into the pan with beef.
Cook until just tender, 2-3 minutes.
Taste and season with salt and pepper.