Beef and black bean stir-fry

Beef and black bean is a traditional Chinese dish, but you'd be hard pressed to find its star ingredient in your local supermarket. Sure you'll be able to find prepackaged 'black bean sauce' but I really wanted to make my own using the real thing. I managed to find fermented black beans (also called dried or salted black beans) in my local Asian grocer without much trouble at all. And the result was a lovely, easy, flavoursome dish with all the benefits of gut benefits of fermented beans, iron from beef, fibre from brown rice and a whole host of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals from a load of colourful veggies!

Beef and black bean stir-fry

500g beef eye fillet (or another lean cut), sliced

50g Chinese black beans, rinsed (found in an Asian grocer)

2 long red chillies, thinly sliced (remove seeds for a milder heat)

1.5 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp minced ginger

1 C reduced salt chicken stock

½ brown onion, thinly sliced

1 ¼ C long grain brown or white rice

2 dinner plates full of vegetables (~8 cups) e.g. broccoli, bok choy, carrots, beans, mushrooms, zucchini, cabbage etc

1. Cook rice in boiling water, drain.

2. Meanwhile, cook beef, chilli, ginger, garlic and black beans in a large frypan over medium-high heat until beef is well browned. Remove from frypan and keep warm.

3. Add onion to the pan and sauté over a medium heat until translucent. Add vegetables and cook until just tender. 

4. Lower to a simmer, add stock and return beef mix to pan, stirring until well coated and beef is heated through.

      4. Divide rice and stir-fry among dishes.

Serves 5-6