I was a bit taken aback when I saw a Stir Fry recipe in Dani’s book – I know my thermomix is versatile, but I had never really considered doing a stir fry in it.

First of all, I’m a bit of a lazy stir-fryer – think already chopped veggies in a bag from the supermarket and the beef strips already cut up by the good folk at Woolworths.  I did attend an Asian cooking class last year with one of my friends, and it was great, but I just hadn’t caught the bug enough to try out much of it at home.  Chucking in some oyster sauce, sesame oil and a bit of soy sauce is about as creative as I have ever been in terms of marinading the meat, and I must admit it’s usually been done as I’ve been cooking the meat, not actually marinading before cooking if you catch my drift.

Anyway, all that aside, I thought I’d give the Beef Stir-Fry a go.  It was a stir fry kind of night, the nights are getting a little bit shorter here, and it was getting cold, so what better than a stir fry?  I also thought it might convince the young Sir to try a few vegetables that he otherwise might not – he didn’t, but that’s another story!

My tips:

Trim the rump/porterhouse really well before you marinade.  You don’t want to eat steamed fat!!

The marinade is great, and I love the way the remnants of it flavour the rice as it’s cooking.  It really makes a tasty rice, which makes a lovely difference from the boring old plain rice I usually do with stir fry.

If I had my time again, I would not put the meat in the thermoserver once it’s cooked.  I’d cover with foil and rest on a plate, as my rump ended up a little over-done for my taste – I always like my meat to be pink. The thermoserver does a great job of keeping the rice hot, but do make sure you fluff it up with a fork before you dish it out into the serving bowls. I think the retained heat cooked the meat a little more than I usually would have done.

The omelette is easy, and quick.  Next time I think I’ll season the eggs a little, and maybe even throw in a few chilli slices and some sliced spring onion, just to see what it’s like.

Now, I happen to not be a huge ginger fan, but I used the ginger as stated in the recipe.  Sadly, the chillies I had bought at the supermarket disappeared somewhere between the supermarket and home – so I ended up using a chilli paste, which I don’t think was as good as the real thing.  Personally, I thought the ginger flavour in the end dish was a little overpowering, but that might just be me.  Next time I’ll reduce the ginger quantity by half.

I used some bok-choi, purple cabbage, and broccolini for my vegetables.  I couldn’t find baby corn anywhere around – I’m guessing it’s out of season at the moment.  I also thought I had some carrots in the fridge, and I didn’t, so I’d definitely use carrot and baby corn next time – it’s just not stir fry without it.  Next time I must remember to cut the vegetables smaller – I was a little pushed for time, so they were a little rough and ready I’m afraid.