Sweet, Salty, Savoury…Sublime!
“What’s that smell?”
I looked up to see my sister walking through the door as I was just frying up some sliced and marinated beef to go with the baby bok choy that I’d steamed earlier. “Oh, hey! I got in a bit late so I’m just making myself some dinner. Have you eaten?”
“Yeah, Jay’s mom packed us some food for dinner so we just reheated that while taking a study break at uni…”
“Okay” I replied, returning my attention to the frying pan, moving the food around quickly so that it’d cook through without becoming too tough. Judging it to be cooked, I quickly scooped it out on top of the bok choy so that the juices would dribble down onto it and the heat from the beef would heat the bok choy up again.
Humming an old Ella Fitzgerald tune under my breath, I popped the frying pan back on the stove top, told my sister that I’d be back and nipped down to grab a jumper from my room. Skipping back, happy at the idea of finally getting some grub into my rumbling tum, I was greeted with the sight of my sister shovelling my dinner down her gullet. She started, eyes shining very much like a rabbit in the headlights, mouth full of rice and chopsticks holding another piece of beef frozen in mid air. I watched, speechless, as she gulped down her current mouthful and carried the next to her mouth. “Whaaaa,” she said, “I couldn’t just sit here with that smell in the air!”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Never mind mate, you finish that, I’ll make myself another batch”.
So here it is, my recipe for sweet and salty beef. This is a fantastic marinade, but one made to my own tastes, so make sure you taste it once it’s all mixed up and alter it according to your own tastebuds.
However, be warned, if you’re making this, then make sure you make enough for any semi-hungry family members who may be lurking nearby else you might find that you’re dinner has suddenly disappeared down someone elses mouth!
This is a wonderful dish which can be made and frozen in batches, and will definetely impress family and friends. Best eaten with some rice and steamed bok choy, or else served with a spoonful of rice in a fresh lettuce leaf as a kind of wrap 
Sweet and salty beef
Ingredients for marinade (for about 500g beef)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp fish sauce
6 tbsp kecap manis*
4 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp castor sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp freshly ground ginger
2 shallots, chopped
3 thai/birds eye chillis, deseeded and thinly sliced
1. Take 500g beef (rump steak or sirloin steak) and stick it in the freezer till it is slightly hardened. Remove once it is fairly firm (but not frozen rock hard) and slice very thinly against the grain. If you do not stick the beef in the freezer then you’ll find it quite difficult to slice the beef as thinly as necessary.
2. Mix up the marinade and taste. If you prefer it to be a bit saltier, add more fish sauce. Alternatively, if you prefer it a bit sweeter, add some more kecap manis. Add the sliced beef to the marinade and massage it through, then leave in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour.
3. Just before you take the beef out, stick some baby bok choy in the steamer and steam it through. Remove it when just tender and arrange on a plate. Heat up a frying pan with a small dash of olive oil, then fry up as much beef as necessary. Make sure you move it around quickly as if the beef has been thinly sliced, it will cook through quite quickly. Once cooked (it should only take a few minutes), lay on top of the bok choy then pour the sauce from the frying pan on top.
4. Serve with some steamed rice and enjoy
*Kecap manis is a thickened sweet dark soy sauce which is very popular in Indonesian cooking, and I find that it’s fantastic to have in the kitchen to add a sweet and slightly spiced flavour to any Asian dish.
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Comments
Sounds excellent and I love the picture!
We’re different, I see.
Had I walked back into the kitchen to see my sister eating the dinner I just prepared for myself, I would not sigh and tell her to go ahead and eat it. I would have grabbed the nearest kitchen towel or oven mitt and beat her about the head and shoulders with it until she scurried out of the kitchen. But that’s just me.
Hi Tanna - ahh, that’s what it’s like living with two ravenous siblings! If there’s food around, then they follow their noses straight to it! I did find some info stating that they were similar (and that the only difference is drippings from a roast pan being used for the yorkshire pud?). What I’m yet to find out though is whether they need to be made in that crazy little tin that featured in your photograph! 
Lis - Hehehe, cheers doll I like your reaction much better, but I’m afraid that after having my sister steal countless meals from me over the years, I’m just resigned to the fact that these things happen! My only problem is that despite what she eats, she’s a stick figure! What I wouldn’t give for her metabolism!
Kat - it makes a lovely dinner, you should give it a try sometime And of course I don’t mind being one of your picks for Blog Day, I feel honoured for the selection 
Rachel - Good marinades are wonderful to have, they can turn a simple dish into something exotic and flavoursome!
Emily - Thanks hon As for being a patient sister, ahh, she’s a good kid and is very patient with me when I’m losing my head (like in the Macaron fiasco a few posts back) so I don’t begrudge her my dinners every now and then!
That looks excellent! Give me anything saucy and marinated and I am a happy girl! Ah! The joys of having sibblings!
Helen - I’m very much the same I love a saucy or well-marinated anything, they can improve things such as rough cuts of meat, or help accentuate flavours (balsamic marinated strawberries!). As for having siblings, well, it’s fun and I wouldn’t have it any other way
Laura Rebecca - Cheers hon I hope you like this as much as my family and I do!
that second picture looks like brains tasty brains, though. you almost make me want to eat beef, little ellie.
God does that look great! What’s the vegetable the beef’s resting on? Zucchini? It can’t bw bok choy, can it?
Bea - it’s very comforting, the flavours are nice and gentle on the palate
Gauri - You should be able to use this marinade with tofu as well, just making sure that you drain it well between two heavy plates/chopping boards!
Susan - Cheers The bok choy is the leafy stuff peeking out below, above it is zucchini (I’m a zucchini fiend and love to have it whenever I can!)
I can understand why your sister snatched your food because my mouth started watering as I read your post!! I hope she feeds you every once and awhile too!
Bruno - Glad you liked it She’s not much of a cook, but she’ll often do the dishes afterwards, which I think is quite good payment 
Too funny. Nice that sis liked it though.
So, did you find that a popover is sister to Yorkshire Pudding?