Conference turris::cooks

    Your best bet is to buy what is usually called "flank steak" - what'd
    you would use to make steak diane, whatever your butcher calls that
    cut.  Trim off the fat and freeze the meat.  When it is still partially
    frozen, cut it with the grain into strips around 2" wide, and cut
    these against the grain as thin as you can (1/8" or less - much
    easier if the meat is still mostly frozen at this point).
    
    These thins strips will cook in less than 30 seconds (assuming your
    wok is hot enough...I've been having trouble these last couple of
    very cold weeks getting the wok hot enough - the gas pressure is
    so low with every gas-fired home in the neighborhood drawing gas
    at the maximum rate that I can't get a blue flame on the stove!);
    it's done as soon as it has changed color.   The meat has less chance
    of sticking together if you mix the pieces with a bit of either
    cornstarch or an egg white (or both) first - though either one is
    likely to produce little blobs that will burn in the hot oil in
    the wok.
    
    If you are making something like beef with pea pods (or with string
    beans, etc.), cook the veggies first (parboil the beans before wokking
    them, though), take them out, cook the beef, then put in the sauce
    (some oyster sauce, some soy sauce, some rice wine, some checken
    broth - whatever) and put the veggie back in.  When everything's
    hot, it's done!  Beef with onions is another good combo - good the
    onion slices until they are very soft.

    Here is something I put together years before I ever owned a wok....
    
    Get a chunk of shoulder steak and partially freeze it....then cut
    it about 1/4 inch thick against the grain
    
    put the meat in a frying pan.....when just about done add slices
    of green pepper and onion....
    
    Then I used to put in about 2 tbs worcestshire sauce and about a
    teaspoon of gravy master....stir, cover, and cook until it looks
    like the peppers are done...
    
    Serve over white rice.....
    
    Rick

    RE: the last few
    
    Stir-fry is always better served over long grain wild rice or brown
    rice. It is also better for you. When the bleach rice to make it
    white they also bleach out all of the nutritional value that was
    in it to begin with.
    
    						Geoff

re: .5 

Short grain brown rice is more like "japanese" rice in that it is easier
to eat with chop sticks...however, I personally love plain short grained
rice with stir-fry (gotta have some danger in life!)

re .1

>    Your best bet is to buy what is usually called "flank steak" - what'd
>    you would use to make steak diane, whatever your butcher calls that
>    cut.  Trim off the fat and freeze the meat.  When it is still partially
>    frozen, cut it with the grain into strips around 2" wide, and cut
>    these against the grain as thin as you can (1/8" or less - much
>    easier if the meat is still mostly frozen at this point).

A bit of confusion here.  Most steak diane recipes I've seen call for sirloin, 
not flank.  A sirlion would be processed as stated above.  On the other hand, 
a flank steak is a piece of meat that averages about 1/2 inch thick.  When you 
lay it out on the counter, the grain lays parallel to the counter (as opposed 
to sirlion which would be roughly perpendicular).  With flank steak, you can 
cut it unforzen into 1/2 inch strips (each strip should be roughly square).  

Note that flank and sirlion are standard names for steaks (by law), and will 
be labeled as such in any market.  Both make for great stir fries with 
different sized chunks.

One rule of thumb I have, since I like steak less than well done, is to cook 
the beef on one side only.  The result will be close to medium, and tossing 
the meat with the veggies and sauce will be enought to brown the other side.

						     
							- JP

    ...if Im not mistaken, I believe flank steak is used for terriaky..
    at least thats what I use it for....but I do believe I read somewhere
    in a magazine or paper that it is some type of flank steak that
    is used in "Chinese" restaurants..
    
    Rick

     Actually, most Chinese restaurants use 'skirt' steak for their
     teriaki.  This is very much like flank steak, cut comes from the
     fore-quarter, and is consequently more flavorful.  Skirt steak
     is occasionally seen in supermarkets, and is usually cheaper
     than flank steak.

    I usually use sirloin, cut into thin strips, and soaked in a teryaki
    (spelling?) marinade for an hour before stir-frying.  The marinade
    is teryaki sauce, with enough corn starch to thicken it slightly
    and a dash of ginger.  Stir-fry the beef in hot oil until browned,
    then add veggies (bamboo shoots, pea pods, bell pepper, water
    chestnuts, mushrooms) and cook with cover on for a couple of minutes.
    Serve with rice.
    
    Mmmmmmmmm....