gluten-free beef with snow peas, asparagus and peppers

Beef with snow peas, asparagus and red bell peppers… tropical passion iced tea… and a lucky penny in the shot! A bite of dark chocolate for dessert and this wraps up a fabulous, easy meal.

The sweet smell of this recipe entices guests into the kitchen… now you can put them to work, too! ;o). Beef with snow peas is a standard Chinese dish, and like many Chinese dishes, usually only needs a swap of gluten-free Tamari sauce to replace the usual soy sauce (containing wheat), and us gluten-intolerant blessed people can enjoy to the fullest!

This recipe can be altered by using a variety of vegetables along with the beef, so don’t limit yourself to the snow peas as posted on many recipes on the web. I added sautéed asparagus and red bell peppers this time, delic-i-oso! Thanks to The Pioneer Woman‘s recipe on many sites to launch my gluten-free version from. Here’s my adaptation.

Beef with Snow Peas, Asparagus and Peppers ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds flank steak, trimmed of the excess fat and sliced very thin against the grain
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup gluten-free Tamari Soy Sauce
• 3 tablespoons gluten-free cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons mirin (cooking sherry/rice vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 8 ounces snow peas, trim the edges
• 6 pieces of asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces on the diagonal
• 1 sweet bell pepper (red/yellow/orange)
• 5 whole scallions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces on the diagonal
• dash of salt
• crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1/2 – 1 cup cooked jasmine rice per person

Make sure to keep your cast iron skillet very hot for preparing this dish. A wok works well too. Keep a bit of extra virgin olive oil in the skillet, and let the meal sizzle a bit before turning. Remember, high heat, less cooking time.

In a bowl, mix together the Tamari sauce, mirin, cornstarch and brown sugar. Add the beef to a separate bowl and pour one-third of the liquid over the top. Save the rest of the liquid. Toss the beef and set aside.

Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat. Add the snow peas, bell peppers and asparagus and stir for 45 seconds to get as much color on them as possible. Remove to a plate.

Once the skillet is hot again, add half the meat mixture with tongs, leaving most of the marinade in the bowl. Spread out the meat as you add it to the skillet, but do not stir it until at least one minute. Sprinkle half the scallions over the meat. Flip the meat to the other side and cook another 30 seconds. Remove to a clean plate.

Repeat with the remaining meat, once the skillet is very hot again. After a minute, flip the meat, add the first plateful of meat, the reserved liquid, snow peas, asparagus, bell peppers, and crushed red pepper. Stir over high heat for 30 seconds, then turn the heat off. The mixture will thicken as it sits a minute. Serve over rice.

Serves 4-6.

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