Stir-Fried Cumin Scented Beef with Vegetables | Wok Wednesdays

This Stir-fried beef with vegetables is, according to Grace Young, the award winning author of The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen, The Breath of a Wok, and Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, a representative Hunan-style stir fry. She also says it involves an advanced stir-frying technique called jau yau, which means "passing through oil." 

Bite sized pieces of meat, poultry, or fish are briefly blanched (in this case 15 seconds) in hot oil prior to stir-frying. You kind of do this acrobatic where you bring the hot oil to about 280 degrees F, add the beef, fry for 15 seconds, and then pull the beef out with a skimmer and drain it on paper towels. 

At this point, you pour off the oil, rinse the wok, and commence the stir-fry. 

Did you notice above that I said Grace Young refers to this technique as "advanced?" I'm feeling pretty smug at this point because I pulled this off. With a guest for dinner. The first time I tried it. Did someone say "advanced?" 

This dish includes flank steak, carrots, cauliflower, scallions, garlic, and cherry tomatoes. It's really tasty. Just saying. Take it from someone who is "advanced." 

I am participating in Wok Wednesdays. We have a Facebook page too for non bloggers to participate. Twice a month we stir-fry a recipe from Grace Young's Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge. So far, every recipe I've tried from this book has been flawless. Order the book. This recipe is on page 74. 

You can also find the recipe >here<.