Great-Grandma Nellie's stir-fry: thin slices of kosher beef marinated in sherry, soy sauce and sesame oil, seared in a ginger-scented wok and tossed with fresh spinach in a light glossy sauce. Serves 4.
Great-Grandma Nellie wrote this recipe by hand into the back pages of one of her cookbooks. It is a quick wok dinner: the beef soaks in a little sherry, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil, the oil is flavored with fresh ginger, and a whole pound of spinach wilts down in the sauce at the end.
Nellie and her husband, Irving, kept a strictly kosher home through 73 years of marriage, so she would have used a kosher cut of beef; skirt steak or shoulder sliced thin across the grain both work well. Her page does not say how much beef, so the pound here is our estimate. Serve it over rice.
Great-Grandma Nellie and Irving on their wedding day in 1920. Nellie kept a strictly kosher home and was an accomplished cook and baker. Tap to enlarge.From the original: Nellie's ingredients and first steps. Tap to enlarge.From the original: how she finished it. Tap to enlarge.
Ingredients
Marinade
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Beef and spinach
1 pound kosher beef, such as skirt steak or shoulder, sliced thin across the grain (amount is our estimate)
Marinate the beef. Stir together the sherry, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Pour it over the sliced beef, mix well, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Prepare the spinach and ginger. Rinse the spinach well in several changes of cold water, drain and shake it dry. Peel the ginger and cut it into thin slices.
Flavor the oil. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir-fry the ginger slices until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then lift them out and set them aside.
Brown the beef. Drain the beef, saving the marinade. Add the beef to the hot oil and stir-fry until browned, 2 to 3 minutes, then remove it to a plate.
Make the sauce. Blend the water, crumbled bouillon cube and saved marinade, then stir in the cornstarch until smooth. Pour it into the wok and bring it to a full boil, stirring.
Wilt the spinach. Add the spinach and the ginger and stir until the spinach wilts, about 3 minutes. Add the spinach in handfuls if it does not all fit at first.
Finish. Return the beef and any juices to the wok and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Serve right away, over rice.
Nutrition per serving (estimated)
360Calories
6 gCarbohydrates
3 gFiber
3 gNet carbs
26 gProtein
26 gFat
Estimated per serving, based on 4 servings, using USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient. Net carbs are carbohydrates minus fiber. Optional ingredients, garnishes and anything served on the side are not included. Brands and portion sizes change the numbers.
The saved marinade has had raw meat in it, so make sure the sauce comes to a full boil in step 5; boiling makes it safe to use.
For thin, even slices, put the beef in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes first, then slice it across the grain.
Skirt steak and shoulder are both kosher cuts from the front of the animal; see our kosher beef cuts guide. Flank steak works too if you do not keep kosher.
Between the soy sauce and the bouillon cube the dish is well seasoned, so taste it before adding any salt.
A pound of spinach looks like a lot, but it wilts down to about a cup and a half.
