Orange Beef (Low Carb & Gluten-Free)
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When it comes to healthy food in a flash what beats a stir-fry?
Right, nothing beats a stir-fry.Vegetables and proteins mingle together over high heat until just crisp with a swirl of savory sa uce that makes everything so very special.
Quick, healthy, delicious: what’s not to love about it?
Alright...I know, this is like the hundredth Asian-Chinese-inspired recipe I’m posting on here; but when it comes to stir-fries, there are endless combinations for making delicious meals.
And honestly, I feel like I’ve touched just the tip of the iceberg, there is still so much more to discover underneath.
So today, we’re making Orange Beef, also known as Chun Pei Ngau Yuk.
A classic dish from the province of Hunan, Chun Pei Ngau Yuk, translates as "old beef"; very old, so old it gathers dust.
The main reason for this name, is that this dish is most often cooked with old, dried, hard orange peel.
“But there’s no reason to use old oranges when you have yummy fresh ones” my friend Xue told me the other day.
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The authentic Chun Pei Ngau Yuk recipe calls for deep frying the beef, stir-frying the veggies and combining everything together with a delicious savory citrus sauce.
But you guys know how I feel about deep frying...so for this guy it’s stir-fry everything instead.
Maybe less authentic, still very, very good.
But then again, it’s crucial to remember that word “authentic” is misleading in itself.
Authenticity in the realm of food is subjective to one’s personal memories and opinion.
However, if authentic to you means Chun Pei Ngau Yuk as made in the streets of Changsha (the capital city of Hunan) then this recipe might be that authentic.
If however, authentic means beef doused in a savory sauce and paired with stir-fried veggies and pepper well my friend, then this is the right dish for you.
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It may look like many steps and many ingredients; but it all comes together in 20 minutes with proper time management. Remember that stir-frying is a fast and hurried affair – have everything ready to go the minute you start heating that wok.
If you're after a healthy meal to serve the family this week, this is it, and you might as well skip plating all together.
Bring the wok to the center of the table and allow everyone to serve themselves – family style… easy, lazy, and quick family style.
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Ingredients
Serves 4
¾ lb / 340 gr flank steak, cut across the grain into thin strips
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 scallions, cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
2 medium celery ribs, stringed and cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
3 chili peppers, chopped (adjust according to taste)
Peel of 1 orange, white pith removed and cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Marinade
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 egg white
2 teaspoons arrowroot powder*
*arrowroot powder acts like cornstarch
Sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons wheat-free soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 teaspoons ketchup (make your own paleo ketchup with this recipe)
1 ½ teaspoons raw organic honey (or raw coconut palm sugar such as Madhava)
Juice of 1 orange
Directions
In a small bowl combine all marinade ingredients. Add marinade and beef strips to a Ziploc bag (or a shallow dish), shake well and refrigerate.
In the meantime, in a bowl combine all sauce ingredients. Set aside.
Heat a wok (or a large skillet) over medium-high heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil, when it sizzles add beef and stir-fry until it changes color and it’s nearly cooked. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Add the celery strips, stir-fry for 1 minute and transfer to a plate.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add chili peppers and orange peel and saute’ briefly until the chiles darken, then add garlic and ginger and saute’ for 1 further minute until everything is fragrant.
Finally stir in scallions and celery strips.
Push the vegetables up the side of the wok, add sauce in the middle and cook for 1 minute.
Add beef and stir-fry until heated through.
Serve hot!
Nutrition facts
One serving yields 280 calories, 19 grams of fat, 8 grams of carbs and 20 grams of protein.
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