“Crack” Beef & Cabbage Stir Fry

This was my first “back on the healthy train” recipe since coming back from quite a bit of travel over the past few months—including a week and a half inhaling pastries on the French Riviera.  So I didn’t need normal healthy, I needed SUPER healthy.  A sort of food detox, if you will.

What I didn’t expect was for this to be SUPER yummy as well.

And cheap and easy.  Fast, cheap, healthy, easy, and yummy is like a unicorn of a recipe.  I mean, it’s no mac and cheese, but it’ll do.

This is going into my regular rotation of uber healthy meals.  It’s got a ton of fiber from all the veggies, is surprisingly satiating, and still has just enough protein from the beef.  You could definitely use a whole pound of beef instead of a half-pound (or substitute turkey, chicken, pork, whatever), but I didn’t feel cheated by the amount of meat, and it lets you stretch your meat further.  This was lunch leftovers all week for me, and I didn’t get sick of it, which is a miracle in and of itself.

Prepare the stir fry sauce first.  In a small bowl whisk together the soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, sriracha, and brown sugar, and set aside

Shred the vegetables so they are ready to go when you need them.  Cut one small cabbage in half, remove the core, and then finely shred the leaves of one half the cabbage (4-6 cups once shredded, save the other half for another recipe).  Peel two carrots, then use a cheese grater to shred them (1 cup shredded).  Slice three green onions. Mince two cloves of garlic.  Peel a knob of ginger using either a vegetable peeler or by scraping with the side of a spoon, then grate it using a small-holed cheese grater.  I use pre-prepared ginger paste and garlic paste for ease.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Once hot add the cooking oil, ground beef, garlic, ginger, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook the beef until browned (about five minutes).  Add the cabbage and cook, stirring frequently, to start wilting the cabbage.

Add the carrots to the skillet after a couple minutes and continue to stir and cook until the cabbage is slightly wilted (or fully wilted, if you prefer).

Then stir in the prepared sauce and the green onions, and cook for a few minutes on lower heat to get everything fully coated and the flavors melded.

Top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a drizzle of sriracha, then serve.

“Crack” Beef & Cabbage Stir Fry

Stir Fry Sauce

• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon of sriracha*
• 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar

Stir Fry

• 1/2 head of green cabbage
• 2 carrots
• 3 green onions
• 1/2 tablespoon of neutral cooking oil
• 1/2 pound of lean ground beef
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• Garnishes (optional):  1 tablespoon of sesame seeds, more sriracha if you’re spicy

Original recipe from Budget Bytes

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