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.

Spicy orange salad, Moroccan style

A version of this salad appeared in the NY Times in 1980. It was by Craig Claiborne. I’ve rewritten it to satisfy myself. Castelvetrano olives are a bright green with a very delicate flavor. Whole Foods has them here in Denver in the antipasto/salad bar area. I like a nice big fat green olive (maybe stuffed with garlic or bleu cheese) in a martini, but not so much to eat by themselves.

My recipe calls for arugula, but we didn't have any. Substituted some shredded romaine. Prefer arugula

Spicy orange salad, Moroccan style (2 servings)
1 large navel orange, supremed
8 castelvetrano olives, pitted (or oil-cured black olives)
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 t red wine or sherry vinegar
salt and pepper
¼ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp paprika
pinch cinnamon
pinch cayenne
baby arugula

If you don’t know how to supreme an orange, go to Google and type in “how to supreme and orange.” There are youtube videos to show you the technique. Alternatively, peel the orange well and cut it into segments.

Put the orange, olives, garlic, olive oil and vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss.

Mix the dry spices in a small bowl, add it to the orange and olives and toss again. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Place some baby arugula in a salad bowl, top with the orange and olives and serve.