Stir-Fried Beef with Potatoes

Many Vietnamese dishes were influenced by the French cuisine, and stir-fried beef with potatoes is one of them. The traditional Vietnamese potato is the sweet potato, but the French introduced the white potato into Vietnam, which is now called the Western potato. Using other Western ingredients will make this dish intriguing. To cut back the calories from frying the potatoes, I bake them first instead. With this technique, the potatoes still keep their crunchiness but without the oil. Also, I can add more sauce to make some gravy out of this dish without making the potatoes too soft. This dish can be served with a Vietnamese family style dinner or by itself. Either way, this is one of my favorite dishes. It brings back sweet memories that our family shared at dinner in Vietnam when my mother had to divide the beef equally among her young kids because there were always more potatoes than meat in the dish.
Ingredients:
Marinade:
1/2 lb. ribeye beef or sirloin
1 garlic, minced
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp cooking wine
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp oil
The Vegetables:
2 Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch wide strips
Cooking oil spray
1/2 cup button mushrooms, cut into bite size pieces
1 small red or yellow onion, cut into wedges
1 small tomato, cut into wedges
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Sauce:
1/4 cup water or chicken broth
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
Garnishes:
2 green onions, cut into 2 inch lengths
Chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
Mix the marinade ingredients and beef. Let beef marinate for 30 minutes.


Spray a baking tray with oil and arrange the potatoes onto the tray in one single layer.

Spray the top of the potatoes with more cooking oil and bake in a preheated oven set to 400° for 45 minutes or until potatoes become golden brown. Remove and keep warm.

Mix sauce ingredients in a bowl and set next to the stove. Place the rest of the vegetables onto a plate.

In a wok over high heat, add 1 tbs oil. Add half of the onions, garlic, stirring until fragrant. Move the onions mixture aside and add beef and stir-fry for a short time. Then, while the beef is still quite red, move the beef together with the onions mixture on the side of the wok (a large wok will accommodate this action). Add mushrooms, tomatoes, and the other half of the onions and cook for 3 minutes. Add sauce and return the beef-onions together with the mushrooms-tomatoes, stirring until the sauce is thickened. Add the baked potatoes and green onions in the final minutes.

 Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.