Okay, so I don’t do minutiae. All of you can count. Many of you have impressive qualifications in quantitative science. And, like my dad’s recipes, such as this recipe for beef teriyaki peppers with noodles, a lot of heart goes into what you want and need.
Beefed up?
Nah, no hippie stuff: it’s just not rocket science. Any specific questions, message me and I’ll oblige with whatever useful answers I have. That aside these recipes are based on portions for two adults with healthy appetites…
I'm not a home economist or professional caterer and you're not without numeracy skills (or calculators on your phones), so make the adjustments as needed.
Shopping List
for the teriyaki beef peppers
Teriyaki - buy it readymade (of the sticky variety) or make it yourself; see below
Beef - ideally thin, lean "frying steaks" - 1 (or more) per diner, depending on how much you love meat
Noodles - fresh udon or egg noodles, see below for alternatives
White (or common-or-garden, but not red) onions - 1 to 1.5 per diner
Green (bell) peppers - one large pepper for each 2 diners
Cashew nuts - preferably roasted; roughly 100g per diner
Baby corn (optional) - about 150g per diner
"Wok oil" as needed - see below
Cooking Method
The day before you cook the dish, marinade the beef. The best meat to use is lean beef in the style of “skirt” or “frying” steaks i.e. flat, thin, wide steaks. Allot roughly one steak per diner, but adjust according to the preference for meat.
Cut the steak into long, thin strips roughly 1 to 1.5cm wide, cutting along the grain of the meat. (Cut across if you wish more marinade to be absorbed).
Place in a dish and either marinate with a store-bought teriyaki or your homemade teriyaki using the recipe below. Then seal and store in the fridge.
for the teriyaki sauce
½ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)
2 cloves finely grated garlic
1 large piece of fresh ginger, grated
¼ cup cold water
1 tablespoon corn starch (maize flour)
Just before
Cut a white onion into quarters and prize it apart naturally to separate the layers (portion guide: roughly one to one and a half onions per diner)
Cut one green pepper (per every two diners) vertically. First slice off the top and stalk and discard. Then slice vertically into thin slices.
Baby corn (optional) - wash and slice into 2 to 2 cm segments (roughly 150g per diner)
Cashew nuts -roughly 100g per diner. Bluntly, use the roasted, salted kind. If not, you need to roast and cool them before they go into the wok. This way, you reduce the need to salt the dish.
Make sure to separate the noodles with clean fingers to help prevent sticking, roughly 150 to 200g per diner dependent on the noodle. My personal preference is for fresh udon or egg noodles. Dried varieties (cooked, drained and cooled, obviously) work well and even spaghetti can help in a bind (it is an egg noodle after all).
Cooking method
Heat a liberal amount of “wok oil” in the wok (or a large frying pan) on a high heat. This oil might comprise any combination including sunflower, peanut or other oils but should include sesame and ginger.
When the oil is heated, add the onion segments, stirring to prevent sticking.
When the onion starts to become soft (but not yet browned) throw in the green pepper, stirring vigorously, adding a little more oil, bit-by-bit if needed. The aim is to “soften” these two ingredients, neither to brown nor caramelise them.
When the onion and green pepper begin to soften, push them up against the sides, making a “hollow” in the middle. Tip the marinated beef into the centre and stir frequently ensuring that it seals on all sides.
The marinade should produce a small “pool” of bubbling liquid. If not, add more teriyaki sauce to create a small pool at the bottom of the wok (or the middle of the frying pan). If you’re feeling sexy, chuck in a bit of sake for good measure.
Chuck the baby corn into the wok; coat and stir the whole mix frequently.
Add the cashews and allow them to soak up the teriyaki, adding sauce as necessary.
Again, create a “hollow” at the centre of the wok, pushing cooked ingredients to the sides. Add the noodles, roughly 150 to 200g per diner dependent on the noodle.
Vigorously stir all the ingredients ensuring that they are evenly cooked. Add thin teriyaki sauce to taste allowing it to be absorbed. Finally, add blackened sesame seeds to taste, stirring evenly through the dish.
Serve and enjoy. Apart from the marinating time, it’s probably taken you 30 mins.
Variations
For great pescatarian versions, simply substitute octopus, squid, large king prawns or fresh tuna, cubed. Marinate and cook in pretty much the same way reducing the cooking time appropriately. Large cubes of tofu marinated in the same way make an excellent vegetarian version.
One of the variations that I like, especially in the spring, is this slightly sweeter and more fiery version. It's essentially the same dish, but you use red bell peppers instead of green and fresh young green asparagus of the sprue sort; approx. 100g, washed and cut into 3cm pieces. At the meat marinating stage, you add one large hot green chilli, finely sliced and a piece of fresh root ginger about 4cm cubed, finely grated. You stir these into the marinade, but otherwise cook in exactly the same way.
Pairings
I'm adding my own pairings first and, wherever available, I'm going to add those of people far more knowledgeable than me, more specifically my brother-in-law Karel Doms.
Japanese food is particularly well suited to beer and, no, I’m not being lazy when I say this dish is fabulous with good old-fashioned Duvel.
Wines that I personally think work well are a good Simonsig Pinotage if we’re going red; if white, DO Arabako Txakolina wines, a Spanish wine designation so young it was practically born with Japanese food under its nails.
Want another option? Try my Sukiyaki Man Cocktail
Fill a 500ml glass with ice cubes; add a measure of your whisky of choice
Squeeze in the juice of one fresh lime with all the “bits”
Top up with a “light” beer such as Corona
Garnish with grated ginger and yuzu peel
But Karel says...
Karel Doms' definitive guide to the best wines to pair with this dish is now in. Enjoy it to your heart's content here.
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