Like my body, my expertise in the art of cooking meat will always be a work in progress.
There will be times when I mess up big time and cook hockey pucks and there will be times when I’m nailing it and grill like a Texan.
Most of the time, I keep it simple, so it’s pretty hard to mess up – like with today’s recipe, a seared hanger steak.
If you’re nervous to cook meat, don’t fret. Just embrace it. Cooking meat is definitely not as easy as roasting a head of cauliflower and calling it a steak. Meat’s fickle.
I think the main issue is that you can get such varying quality of meat – sometimes it’s fatty, sometimes it’s lean, sometimes it’s thin, sometimes it’s thick. So, depending on what you’re making, your recipe may fail, even if it worked flawlessly at one point.
Each summer, I make it a goal to become more confident with cooking meat. The problem is that I rarely ever eat meat, so the thought of working more with it seems, well, wasteful.
Last summer, I focused on marinades – marinades can make you look like an Iron Chef. If you can marinate your meats, even if you overcook them, they’ll still have great flavor and your guests or your date will forget that it took them 2 minutes to chew through a piece of their steak. Hopefully.
People ask me a lot what my diet looks like, especially because I’m pretty open about my health goals and have maintained weight loss. Well, I don’t eat much red meat at all!
My main source of protein is probably fish. I probably eat chicken once or twice a week, while the rest of the time, I eat vegetarian/vegan.
Long story short, with this recipe, you can’t go wrong. Hanger steak is easy to handle, easy to cook and this recipe, well, it’s as basic as they get – an easy quick weeknight meal that’s packed with flavor, on account of the hoisin-based marinade.
How often do you eat meat? What’s your main source of protein?
Nutritional Information & Recipe
Weight Watchers SmartPoints*: 11 points
Spicy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry with Spiralized Peppers and Onions
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 1 pound hanger or flank steak sliced into strips
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 2 large red bell peppers
- 1 small red onion
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- For the marinade:
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tablespoon sriracha or less –or omit – if you don’t like spice
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy-sauce
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the hoisin, garlic, sriracha, orange juice and soy sauce and set aside. Add in the steak strips to the marinade and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place a medium pot filled halfway with water over high-heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in the broccoli florets and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain the broccoli into a colander and then set aside.
- Also, spiralize (with Blade A) your peppers and onions. Trim all noodles.
- Once steak is done marinating, place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once heated, add in the beef and cook for 2 minutes per side (for medium) and then transfer to a cutting board. Reserve any extra marinade.
- Immediately, add the sesame oil and then peppers and onions to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until peppers and onions soften. Once vegetables are tender, add in the reserved beef marinade and broccoli. Toss together for a minute or until fully combined.
- Plate the vegetables and top with slices of beef. Serve immediately.
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