Orange beef stir-fry with star anise

Once again my camera was not a hand when I served this recipe up. Went directly t0 the table. I found this photo in a Chinese cookbook we own, scanned it, and here it is. Truth be told we served our stir-fry over brown basmati rice, but those noodles look great, don’t they?

There’s a show on the Cooking Channel, “Everyday Exotic”, with chef Roger Mooking. Everything he makes looks great, although some things (this recipe among them) are a bit labor intensive. Below is my version, a simpler one. This is extremely delicious.

Star anise orange sauce
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 scallion, green and white parts, finely chopped
1 whole star anise
1 chile (for heat) or some red pepper flakes
1 cup orange juice
1 tbsp ginger, roughly chopped
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp soy sauce

For the sauce:
Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the scallions for 2-3 minutes. Add star anise and chile or red pepper flakes. Deglaze with orange juice. Add ginger. Simmer until reduced and syrupy (this took quite a while at altitude, maybe 15 minutes). Strain into a smaller pan. Add fish sauce, soy sauce. Keep warm while you prepare the beef.

Skirt steak (or flank steak)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
9 oz. steak, sliced to ¼” across the grain
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp garlic powder (or to taste)
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
1 star anise, ground mortar and pestle or in spice grinder
3 scallions, cut into 2” pieces
1 or 2 garlic cloves, sliced
Heat the oil in a wok or large sauté pan until just starting to smoke. Place the cornstarch, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, pepper, and half of the ground star anise into a bowl (reserve the remaining star anise for another use). Whisk thoroughly to combine. Add the beef and toss to coat completely.
When the wok is hot, add the scallions and garlic and fry, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add beef and toss continually until just cooked through. Add orange sauce and toss 30 seconds. Serve over noodles or rice.