Recipe: Korean Marinated Beef Strips

KOREAN MARINATED BEEF STRIPS

1 1/4 pound lean tender beef steak
1/2 medium hard pear (or Asian pear-apple)
4 to 5 garlic cloves
1 (2-inch) cube fresh ginger
4 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce (shoyu)
5 medium mushrooms
2 small onions
3 scallions
1 medium carrot
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Cut the meat against the grain into 3-inch-by-2-inch rectangles that are about 1/8-inch thick. Set aside.

Peel and core pear, slice in half and then chop it coarsely. Peel garlic and ginger and chop them coarsely. Put pear, garlic, ginger and soy sauce into blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Cut mushrooms into 1/8-inch slices. Peel and thickly slice onions. Cut scallions into 2 1/2-inch lengths. Peel carrot and cut into 2 1/2-inch chunks. Then cut each chunk lengthwise into 1/8-inch slices. Set aside.

Put meat in bowl. Add paste from blender, mushrooms, onions, scallions, carrot, sesame oil, sesame seeds and sugar. Mix well. Cover and marinate for 1 to 24 hours.

WHEN READY TO COOK:
Set a large cast-iron frying pan on high heat. Let it get almost white-hot.

Removing meat from the marinade (and reserving the marinade), put in as many of the meat slices in the pan as will fit in one layer. Cook, turning meat pieces over as soon as they brown a little. You may leave the meat rare if you like. Remove meat as soon as it is ready and set aside. Cook all the meat in this way.

Put vegetables and reserved marinade in the pan. Cook on high heat for a minute or so.

Spoon the vegetable mixture over or beside the meat. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings
Adapted from source: Madhur Jaffrey's Far Eastern Cookery by Madhur Jaffrey