Stir Fry is absolutely one of my very favorite things to cook, as you’ll eventually see on this blog. All you need is a wok, which is a genius cooking tool anyway, everything cooks evenly and simply and in record time, and a few basic pantry staples, and you can stir fry anything.

I don’t eat a lot of red meat, but one of the few ways I enjoy it is in a stir fry. I was feeling in the mood for some meat so I got a sirloin and since it’s SPRINGTIME and (my favorite) fiddlehead ferns were available, I decided to go for that. I matched it with some nutty brown rice. And, it was terrific, as usual.

The trick to any stir fry is to have all your ingredients chopped and ready, cause it goes super fast once you’re cooking. Really, that’s the only trick, it’s otherwise pretty easy.

So, here’s how it went down for the sirloin/fiddlehead stir fry:

Ingredients:

• 1 pound sirloin steak, cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 5 tablespoons tamari or dark soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, more for drizzling
• 1 pound fiddlehead ferns, washed and trimmed
• 3 scallions
• 2 ½ tablespoons Mirin
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 hot pepper, minced, with or without seeds depending on how spicy you like things.(I used habanero and kept the seeds, but anything available works. If you like it less spicy, remove seeds)
• Rice, for serving
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)

Prep:

1. In a medium bowl, mix steak, 2 tablespoons tamari, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Thinly slice and separate scallions (white and light green together, and dark green for garnish).
3. In a small bowl, mix Mirin, 1/2 cup water, remaining 3 tablespoons tamari and cornstarch.
4. Heat a wok over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. When pan is hot, stir-fry steak until browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer beef and any liquid to a plate.
5. Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet and when hot, add garlic and white and light green scallion parts until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add fiddleheads and sauce. Let cook for 2 minutes. Transfer beef and juices to skillet and stir-fry 2 minutes. Serve over rice, garnished with sesame seeds and dark parts of scallions.

Enjoy! I will post more stir fry recipes here in the future, there are a few different basic simple sauces that are go to for me, sweet vs. brown sauce (featured here), etc.