Saucy Beef ’n Mushroom Meal-in-One

Styling and Photography by Sina Mizrahi

This recipe is as awesome as it is easy. The best part is that all of my kids actually liked it, and that’s saying a lot! Please don’t skip the extra step of velveting the steak — it makes all the difference between a tender versus a chewy piece of meat

SERVES 4–6

• 1½ lb (680 g) pepper steak, thinly sliced against the grain
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• 6½ cups cold water, divided
• salt, for sprinkling
• 3 Tbsp oil, plus more for stir-frying
• 1 large Spanish onion, diced
• 16 oz (450 g) sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 3 packages ramen noodles, imitation chicken flavor
• sliced scallions, for garnish
• toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Sauce

• ¼ cup teriyaki sauce
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 3 Tbsp sherry
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1½ Tbsp honey
• ⅛ tsp dried ginger
• 3 ramen spice packets

Dice pepper steak into tiny 0.5×0.5-inch (1×1-cm) pieces. Place into a large bowl and sprinkle with baking soda from high up. (This way you get a thin layer over all of the meat.) Next, add 1/4 cup water and massage the beef so the baking soda and water is uniformly distributed. The baking soda tenderizes the meat and prevents it from becoming tough and chewy when stir-frying.

Allow the meat to rest for 45–60 minutes. Rinse well in cold water and pat dry. Sprinkle lightly with salt and set aside.

While the meat is velveting, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the ramen noodles, setting aside the spice packets for the sauce. Boil for 4–5 minutes, stirring gently several times, to break up the noodles. Drain and set aside. Combine sauce ingredients and set it aside.