Beef Teriyaki Stir Fry

Teriyaki sauce is traditionally made by combining soy sauce, sake or mirin and sugar or honey. The sauce is boiled and reduced to the desired thickness, then used to marinate meat which is then grilled or broiled. Sometimes, ginger is added. I always have some of this sauce on hand, particularly because my dad is a Japanese chef and he will make tubs of it at a time. He however does not thicken it, and it is left to me to thicken it to the consistency that I want for the particular dish that I’m cooking. This dish is another surefire hit at the dinner table for me. It is quick and easy (particularly with the ready-made sauce for me), and it is one of those sauces that pleases most people’s taste buds.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb Beef (thinly sliced)
1 Onion (roughly chopped)
1 cup Mushrooms (sliced – preferably fresh mushrooms but canned can be used in a pinch)
1 tsp. Corn Starch
1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tbsp. Sesame Oil
1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Black Pepper
2 tsp. Oil
1 clove of Garlic (minced)
1 cup Teriyaki Sauce (½ cup Soy Sauce, ½ cup Mirin, 2 tbsp. Sugar and 1” knob of Ginger)

DIRECTIONS

Marinate beef with corn starch, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and black pepper. Set aside.

In a small pot, heat up teriyaki sauce with low heat. Thicken the sauce with a corn starch slurry (approximately 1 tbsp. corn starch with 3 tbsp. water). When teriyaki sauce is thickened, turn off heat and set aside.

Heat up wok and add 1 tsp. oil. Stir fry onions until browned and remove from wok. Repeat process with mushrooms.

Heat up wok again and add garlic. Cook until fragrant and then add marinated beef. When the beef is mostly cooked, add the teriyaki sauce (may not need all of the teriyaki sauce – it depends on your preference in regards to sauciness). Return onions and mushrooms to the wok and mix until everything is coated with the sauce.

Remove from wok and serve with rice!