Stir-Fried Beef and Sugar Snap Peas

By Melissa Clark

Stir-Fried Beef and Sugar Snap Peas
Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(1,557)
Comments
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Here's a stir-fry far better than most take-out Chinese, and you can make it with any lean cut of meat — flank steak, London broil, tenderloin, sirloin or skirt steak — so long as it is cut thin against the grain. Most takeout joints use snow peas, but sugar snaps are juicier and more succulent, and just as crunchy. (Their downside is that they are slightly more work: they need to be thinly sliced.) As for the sauce, it's simple: thick dark soy sauce (tamari works well), sesame oil, chicken broth and Madeira.

Featured in: Beef Stir-Fry, Smiling Cow Style

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1pound lean beef, cut into ¼-inch strips
  • 3tablespoons tamari or dark soy sauce
  • 2teaspoons toasted sesame oil, more for drizzling
  • ¼teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1pound sugar snap peas, trimmed
  • 3fat scallions
  • ⅔cup chicken broth
  • 2½tablespoons Madeira or sweet sherry
  • 1tablespoon cornstarch
  • 3tablespoons peanut or olive oil
  • 4garlic cloves, minced
  • Rice, for serving
  • 2tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (optional)
  • Sriracha or other hot sauce, or rice wine vinegar for garnish
  • chili oil, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

466 calories; 20 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 37 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 33 grams protein; 826 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium bowl, mix beef, 2 tablespoons tamari, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Thinly slice sugar snap peas crosswise into disks. Thinly slice scallions, reserving dark green parts for garnish.

  3. Step 3

    In a small bowl, mix chicken broth, Madeira, 2 tablespoons water, remaining 1 tablespoon tamari and cornstarch.

  4. Step 4

    Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. When pan is hot, stir-fry beef until browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer beef and any liquid to a plate.

  5. Step 5

    Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet and when hot, add garlic and white and light green scallion parts until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add sugar snap peas and chicken broth mixture, lower heat to medium and cover. Let cook for 2 minutes. Transfer beef and juices to skillet and stir-fry 2 minutes. Serve over rice, garnished with more sesame oil, sesame seeds, dark parts of scallions, and hot sauce or vinegar and chili oil.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,557 user ratings
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Comments

Goombay

So, what am I missing? What do you do with the tamari, sesame oil, salt and pepper in the medium bowl? Marinate the beef? Add it to the chicken broth sauce? When? The recipe is missing a step, it seems.

Eminence Grise

Being part Japanese I added my slant to the dish:
Replaced Madeira with Sake
Replaced sugar snap peas with seasonal asparagus & broccoli. Cut asparagus into 1.5" pieces & broccoli into florets. leave plenty of crunch in them to add texture to dish
Don't use western/Mexican hot sauces, the vinegar clashes. Use Asian La-Yu or Shichimi pepper flakes
Instead of serving in a flat plate, served it "Donburi-style", i.e. divided into individual bowls over steamed rice.

Bicka

I took note of others comments and made some modifications. I used more soy sauce to marinate the meat. Added chopped ginger to the sauce as well as oyster sauce to give it some depth. I also added thinly sliced red peppers to the peas. Everyone loved it.

Mark R

I used Avocado Oil. I subbed green beans for snap peas as they were all I could get. And I used red onion instead of scallions. Added some mirin to the broth mixture. Otherwise, pretty tasty.

Mom is Cooking

Liked, not loved. We didn't have peanut oil on hand and had to stir fry the beef in olive oil - we were unable to achieve the nice crispness. I will give it one more shot with peanut oil and try to get the heat higher!

Eve K

Added ginger, more soy, chili flakes. Served with vinegar and chili garlic sauce. Good quick meal.

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