Cumin Beef and Green Bean Stir-Fry

Borrowing from both Hunan and Indo-Chinese cuisine, this speedy stir-fry features a generous amount of crushed cumin seeds for their aroma and earthy flavor. While ketchup is commonly used in Indo-Chinese cooking to provide tangy sweetness, sriracha does double duty, delivering a spicy kick without needing to reach for the chili powder. Green beans are ideal here for their mild sweetness and crunchy texture, but any quick-cooking vegetable will work in their place. Green beans are a quick-cooking, low-calorie, low-fat vegetable packed with vitamins A, C & K and minerals like potassium, iron, and folate. They are also packed with fiber.

Makes: 4 servings
Time to cook: 25 minutes

Ingredients

· 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, crushed (see Tip)

· ¾ pound steak, such as sirloin, boneless short rib, New York strip or rib eye, cut against the grain into ¼-inch-thick slices (see Tip)

· 4 tablespoons soy sauce, divided

· 2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided

· 4 garlic cloves, finely grated

· 1 (1-inch piece) fresh ginger, finely grated

· 1 tablespoon sriracha

· 2 teaspoons sugar

· 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

· 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

· 12 ounces green beans, trimmed and halved

· Kosher salt

Cooking Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine steak, cumin, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Toss to evenly coat the steak. Set aside. (Steak can be marinated, refrigerated, up to 3 hours in advance)

2. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 teaspoon cornstarch with the garlic, ginger, sriracha, sugar and vinegar. Stir well to combine.

3. Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high. Once warmed through, add oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add steak and cook, undisturbed, until charred on the underside and still pink on the surface, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir and toss briefly, then transfer the steak to a plate.

4. Add ½ cup water to the pan to deglaze it, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits. Add green beans, season with salt and stir-fry until the green beans are crisp-tender and about 1 tablespoon of liquid remains, 3 to 5 minutes.

5. Return the beef to the pan and pour in the soy sauce mixture. Cook, stirring frequently until warmed through and thickened, about 1 minute. Serve immediately over rice.

Tips

· To crush cumin seeds, use a mortar and pestle or briefly pulse in a spice grinder. Another option is to chop the seeds on a cutting board or crush them under a skillet. Instead of cumin seeds, you can also use 2 teaspoons ground cumin.

· To make the steak easier to slice, chill it in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes.

Nutrition per serving
335 calories; 17 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 22 grams protein; 1028 milligrams sodium

Recipe by Zaynab Issa, NY Times Cooking

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