Ginger Beef

This dish was tasty, and it was super-easy to prepare. That makes it a real winner in my book. Everyone in the family enjoyed it, but the Bean, who adores meat, was especially thrilled. The leftovers provided allergen-friendly meals for me the rest of the week. I made just a few adaptations to the recipe, which I note below, to make it allergen-friendly.

Next time I think I’ll consider doubling the ginger and garlic. The flavor was a little too subtle for my taste. Although, I haven’t cooked the frozen entree yet, and I know that flavors become more pronounced in the freezer. Hmm. Guess we will wait to try the one from the freezer before making any changes.

The book doesn’t give serving suggestions, so I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to shred or slice the beef. Since it was a slow-cooking beef, I assumed I should shred it. I served this up over rice with a simple salad on the side. You could also serve it on a bun, or mixed up with some egg noodles like a stroganoff.

Ginger Beef

Source: Fix, Freeze, Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik

Grocery List:

• 6 pounds sirloin tip beef or other beef suitable for slow cooking
• 3 cups water
• 9 scallions chopped about 1 1/2 cups
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 6 tsp beef bouillon granules
• 6 tsp minced ginger
• 6 tsp minced garlic
• 3 one-gallon freezer bags

1. Rinse and trim beef as desired. Cut into thick strips, about 2×5 inches (The beef should not be in bite-size pieces.) Divide beef evenly among the 1-gallon freezer bags.

 

I have to tell a really funny story that happened while I was buying beef for this recipe. I went to the well-known, hoity-toity, organic grocery store in search of fresh, grass-fed beef. I was giving one of the entrees to a friend’s family whose son is seriously ill. I wanted it to be as nourishing as possible. I saw the conventional beef in the case and noted that it was $5.99 a pound. I asked the butcher if they had the same thing in grass-fed beef. He said he’d take a look.

He came back out a minute later, smiling, holding a 10 pound hunk of beef.

“How much ya want?” he asked.

I paused and considered asking how much it cost. I considered asking for 3 pounds of the grass-fed and 6 pounds of the conventional. But then, in a stroke of optimism, I thought, “Well, if the conventional beef is $5.99 a pound, surely the grass fed is only a dollar or so more.” You can see where this is going, can’t you?

I told him to give me 6 pounds. He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. He brought the meat over to weigh and price and my eyes popped out of my head. That hunk of meat was costing me close to 70 dollars! Lesson learned, always ask the price before you have the butcher cut and trim your meat.

Anyway, once I got the beef home, it was an easy-enough thing to cut into strips and put it into bags. I had asked the butcher to cut the beef into 3 equal pieces for me, so I didn’t have any weighing to do at home.

2. Into each bag of beef measure 1 cup water, 1/2 cup scallions, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 tsp bouillon, 2 tsp ginger, and 2 tsp garlic.

 

Here is where my ingredient substitutions came in. I did not use beef bouillon. Most bouillon has gluten, and I actually don’t prefer the other ingredients in the bouillon so much. Instead of using the water and the bouillon I used 3 cups of gluten-free beef broth. I also substituted coconut aminos for the soy sauce (in the dinner for my family) and tamari sauce (in the dinner for the other family, who is gluten-free but not soy-free).

3. Seal and freeze.

 

TO COOK:

1. Thaw completely in the refrigerator, or cook it straight from the freezer.

2. Put beef and broth into slow cooker. Cook on low for 5-6 hours, or until beef is fork tender.

Freezer Tally:

• 3 bags of Red Sauce
• 2 bags of Spanish Rice
• 0 bags of Asparagus and Potato Frittata (sniff, sniff)
• 1 bag of Ginger Beef