Teriyaki beef

This is one of those dishes that I like to do for weekday dinners, when there really isn't much time to faff around after getting home from work. I always tend to get really hungry at around 5.30pm or 6pm, just when I am cooking, and quick is always better when my tummy is rumbling. (Have I mentioned that I get grumpy when hungry?)

I tend to marinate the meat in the morning just before leaving the house, so that the meat can be tenderised and it is all ready to go into the wok when I get home. This goes particularly well with a bowl of rice, and a side dish of vegetables, like the simple broccoli and baby corn stir fry at the back of the picture.




Ingredients (serve 2):

350g beef sirloin, thinly sliced
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sake
2 tsp sugar
Oil for cooking
4 tbsp water
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)

1. Marinate the sliced beef in light soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar. Leave in the fridge overnight or through the day.
2. Heat a large frying pan or wok on medium-high heat. Add the oil. When hot, add the beef and stir fry quickly to prevent the meat from burning and to cook the pieces evenly. When the beef is 80 per cent cooked, dish out and set aside.
3. Add water and additional 1 tsp of sugar to the reserve marinade, stir to mix and pour into the hot wok. Heat and stir the mixture, boiling it until it starts to reduce and thicken.
4. Turn off the heat. Add the beef back to the wok and stir well to coat with the thickened sauce. Dish out onto a serving plate, garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve.