Garlic Scape Stir Fry & Other Chinese Stir-Fry Secrets
Vegetarian: Shiitake Mushrooms, Garlic Scapes, and Spring Onions
Beef Noisettes with Shiitake Mushrooms, Garlic Scapes, and Spring Onions
We’re in garlic scape season, which means you really should be hitting up your local farmers’ market and asking for them. This is what they should look like. They’re a crisp, young stalk and impart a garlicy “aura” on the tongue. You know how shallots are a combination of garlic and an onion? Well think of that “garlic-ness” and apply that to an asparagus stalk – without all the hassle of blanching, shocking in cold water and sautéing it with garlic. IT’S EASY TO COOK AND ALREADY FLAVORED! Fabrication deets follow:
For the beef, I bought two lbs. of skirt steak and sliced them AGAINST the grain (easier for our carnivorous teeth to break down) on a bias (for looks) in small chunks the size of 3 sticks of chewing gum. I marinated in 1 cup of soy sauce, a few tablespoons of sake and nubs of ginger. Culinary trivia: a “noisette” is a tender chunk of meat found near the rib and the loin. The skirt cut of beef is right between both, so… WIN!
I cut the UNRULY garlic scapes into relatively uniform pieces, making sure to make the top of the roots extra pretty. I also took a handful of dried shiitake mushrooms and soaked them in hot water. When they plumped up, I squeezed out the liquid (reserving for later) and sliced them thinly. In a last act of “huh, I should really use these soon,” I pulled a few spring onions and sliced them thinly to secure that Asian “garlic, ginger + onion” connection.
Here’s the secret to Asian stir-frys: HEAT. You must heat your pan in an amazingly heat-concentrated environment. IF you don’t, your beef will be grey, your veggies limp and your sauce SUPER watery… which will only force you to use cornstarch, which, in my opinion, muddles flavors and makes things “chalky.” RIGHT DTRB? Hehehehe.
Most modern ovens go to 500 – 550 degrees. So, preheat your oven and make sure that ALL of your ingredients are ready. Throw one or two of your stainless-steel (oven-ready) pans in for at least 7-8 minutes to get SCREAMING HOT.
While the pans are preheating, grab your beef and shiitake mushrooms from the fridge and dry off in paper towels. This is very important. You want that intense heat to cook the beef, not reduce excess soy sauce, right? Right. Pull the pans from the oven using pot holders, put them on your burners on high and squirt some canola oil in (olive oil, sesame oil and butter would burn in an INSTANT). Carefully place one handful of beef and mushrooms in the pan and don’t touch it for 3 minutes. You’ll get an amazing seared color on the meat and mushrooms. Toss in the pan for another two minutes for even cooking and then set the meat / mushrooms aside.
Add the onions and garlic scapes and cook over high for 3 minutes. Again, you’ll see the same color on the veggies. Add a few tablespoons of the reserved shiitake mushroom soaking liquid (strained in cheesecloth) to create steam to finish cooking the scapes. Lastly, throw in 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce and sake and let cook for another 2 minutes to reduce. Add the meat and mushrooms back in the pan to and toss (just like on TV! lol) to combine all the sauces.
The beef sears so well, the meatiness becomes the base of the sauce. You’ll get an intense umami mouth feel which is mirrored by the shiitake mushrooms, carried out further with the spring onions and is rounded out by the garlic flavor and crisp texture from the scapes.
Serve with chopsticks (reusable, please), a bowl of piping hot white rice and enjoy! I didn’t, but you could totally throw in some thai chilies for spiciness. One last thing, if you value your pans, please let them cool down on their own – if you pour water on top, the metal will “scream” and the flat bottom of your cooking vessel will be no longer.
Happy stir-frying! 
~Spec
