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Weeknight Cooking

Dinner Tonight: Stir-Fried Beef and Bok Choy

The key to keeping the beef tender? Baking soda.
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Published Nov. 6, 2018.

Dinner Tonight: Stir-Fried Beef and Bok Choy

Stir-fries are a no-brainer when it comes to finding an easy, satisfying weeknight meal. Just start with your favorite protein and add lots of vegetables and a flavorful sauce. Serve over rice and you're done!

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10 ingredients. 45 minutes. Quick, easy, and fresh weeknight recipes.

It's pretty simple, but there are little things you can do to make the best stir-fry ever. For instance, for our Stir-Fried Beef and Bok Choy recipe, we faced the challenge of keeping the thinly sliced beef tender. It happens to the best of us: We slice steak superthin for a stir-fry supper only to have the meat emerge tough and chewy rather than tender. We eat it anyway, but we’re disappointed. 

How to Keep Stir-Fried Beef Tender

There is a better way, and it’s simple: cornstarch and baking soda. Tossing your thinly sliced pieces of flank steak with these ingredients before cooking prevents the meat from seizing up and turning tough. Some folks call it “velveting” the meat, because the resulting dish is velvety soft.

Recipe

Stir-Fried Beef and Bok Choy

Tender strips of flank steak soak up the flavorful sauce in this superquick dinner.
Get the Recipe

Oyster sauce, which is easy to find in the Asian section of your grocery store, lends a deep savoriness to this recipe, enhancing the beefy flavors. Baby bok choy, with its vibrant freshness, adds a lively and beautiful green counterpoint.

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