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This yummy beef stir-fry is a fancy twist on Chinese take-out.
This recipe makes about 1 ½ cups of garlic confit and 1 ½ cups of candied walnuts so you'll have a little extra of both. "Sweet, soft and delicious on bread or in countless dishes, the garlic confit will keep about 1 week in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer, as does the oil," Rach says. "The candied walnuts will keep about 2 weeks in an airtight container."
- 4 bulbs garlic, peeled and trimmed of root ends (32-40 cloves)
- About 1 cup olive oil
- 1 ½ cups walnuts
- ½ cup white sugar
- Coarse salt or flaky sea salt & coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 ½ pounds beef tenderloin or petite filet, cut into bite-size pieces
- Salt and fine black or white pepper
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil
- 2 leeks, trimmed and cleaned
- 1 white or yellow onion, chopped
- 1 inch ginger, grated, chopped or thinly sliced
- About ⅓ cup Shaoxing or Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry
- 3 tablespoons tamari, soy sauce or smoked soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire
- ½ cup beef bone broth or stock
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with a couple tablespoons water to form a slurry
- Chives or finely chopped scallions, to serve
- White or brown rice, cooked in stock, to serve
For the garlic confit, place garlic in a small saucepot and just cover with oil, about 1 cup. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cook 30 minutes to very soft and very light tan in color. Strain and store separately.
For the candied walnuts, toast nuts in 375˚F preheated oven on parchment- or silicone-lined baking sheet for 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, melt sugar over moderate heat to caramel in color. Drizzle the melted caramel sugar over nuts with a fork to coat and separate, then season with coarse or flaky salt and black pepper to taste. Cool.
For the beef, heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Pat meat dry and season, add oil, 2 turns of the pan, and brown meat and leeks then remove to platter. Add more oil, another turn of the pan, and reduce heat a bit to medium. Cook the onions to soften but do not brown. After about 2 to 3 minutes, add a half-cup water to speed the process along, and let it absorb fully. Add ginger and stir, add Shaoxing or sherry, soy sauce, Worcestershire and stock. Stir in slurry, add about half of the reserved garlic confit and thicken sauce 1 minute, then add beef and top with about 1 cup of the cooled candied walnuts.
Serve beef with rice and top with chives or scallions.
