Recipe of the Week: Stir Fry Tamarind Beef

Are you familiar with tamarind? There are many tart/sour Southeast Asian recipes that have tamarind as its base flavor. In Singapore, tamarind comes in either pod or pulp form, and to use it, you have to extract the juice. The most convenient way to use tamarind though, is definitely in paste form. Here in the USA, you can buy tamarind paste from your Asian grocery store or online.

For this week's recipe, we are sharing an easy but flavorful tamarind beef stir fry. This dish is also a great way for you to use up some of your late summer peppers. Yummy.

(recipe adapted from Savory Spice Shop)

Ingredients
1lb skirt steak, sliced thinly against the grain
1/4 cup tamarind paste
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 shallots, sliced
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced thinly
3 tbsp honey
4 tsp soy sauce
4 tsp yellow mustard seeds
4 tsp cumin seeds
4 tsp ground coriander
1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced
2 thai chili peppers (optional, you can use more if you want it more spicy)
1 tbsp cooking oil

Directions
Marinate beef in tamarind, garlic, honey, and soy sauce for at least 1 hour.
In the meantime, dry roast mustard and cumin seeds until the seeds start to pop (about 3 minutes), then remove.
In a wok, heat oil until hot, then stir in bell peppers, chili peppers, onions, and carrots. Cook until soft.
Add steak and marinade, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add in cumin, mustard, and coriander.
Finish cooking meat. We like ours medium rare, so that is about 1-2 minutes; add more cooking time if you like your beef well done.
Serve over rice.