Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring this video! Go to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to squarespace.com/ragusea and add code “RAGUSEA" at checkout to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
**RECIPE, SERVES FOUR**
1-1.5 lbs (approx. 500g) beef for stir fry, ideally skirt steak
1-1.5 lbs (approx. 500g) small peppers
2 limes
1 orange
1 bunch green onions
molasses (or any other form of sugar)
soy sauce
gochujang (or tomato paste or ketchup if you don't want the heat)
mustard
ginger (I used dried but you could use a small thumb of fresh)
starch
cilantro (or any fresh herb you like)
oil
salt
pepper
white rice (make as much as you want however you want)
Ideally the night before, marinate the beef. Combine the juice of one of the limes, an equal quantity of soy sauce, the juice of the orange, a big glug of molasses, a spoonful of gochujang, a spoonful of mustard, a dash of dried ginger (or a spoonful of fresh chopped), enough water to give you one total cup of liquid, then stir in 1-2 teaspoons of starch, depending on how thick you want the sauce.
Slice the green onions into thin rounds. Stir the whiter half of the onions into the sauce. Reserve the greener half - stir those and the juice of the remaining lime into your cooked rice shortly before you eat.
Slice the beef against the grain into strips about half a centimeter thick. Assuming you have time to marinate the beef before you cook, dump the meat into the marinade and refrigerate. (You could instead just used the marinade as a sauce.)
When you're ready to actually cook, rub down a wide cast-iron pan with a thin layer of oil, put it onto an outdoor grill and get the grill going as hot as possible. Close the lid to retain heat.
Cut all the peppers in half and take out the seeds. Toss with oil, salt and pepper. Fish the beef out of the marinade, squeeze out as much liquid as possible (retaining it In the bowl) and dry the beef on paper towels. Toss the beef with a little oil. Take the beef, peppers and a handful of cilantro outside along with the reserved bowl of marinade.
The pan is hot enough when the oil has completely burned off and the pan is no longer smoking. Drop in the beef and push it into an even, thin layer on the pan. Drop the peppers on to the grill grates, and close the lid to retain heat.
A minute or two later, the peppers should be brown on the first side and you can flip them with tongs. The beef pieces should be brown on the bottom but still not cooked through. Pour in the marinade and stir to deglaze the pan. Close the lid again.
A minute or two later, the sauce should be thick and the peppers almost cooked. Stir in the cilantro, drop the peppers into the pan, and use thick oven mitts to carry the pan inside.
Serve over the rice you tossed with the onion greens and lime juice.