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You ever have a night when nothing sounds good? Maybe the menu plan you so diligently made just doesn’t quite work for that night? Or maybe you just didn’t bother to make a menu plan for the week. Sometimes I have those kind of nights. I’ve been on a quest lately to try to find quick and easy recipes for the nights when my menu plan doesn’t work or something fell apart. Now that I’m sometimes working (temporary work through a couple of agencies) these meals are even more important.

This recipe resulted when from me not having a meal planned for a night. And from me thinking how much I would love to get some Chinese food. But living just under half an hour from town, the idea of going out for Chinese (not to mention the cost and the iffy ingredients) sounds less than appealing most times. I thought maybe I could make something myself that would satisfy the ‘craving’. Searching the internet I found this recipe which looked like it might be a good jumping off point. The end result was VERY good and was finished in about 20 minutes. The kids even thought this was terrific.

To save time, while the water was coming to a boil I did all my slicing, mixed up my sauce and started the onions and beef cooking.My beef had came out of the freezer only a few minutes before and went into a cold water bath (left in the packaging). With it still being slightly frozen, slicing it thinly is easier. The curry sauce I added because we really like curry. The original recipe does not call for it and it would not be authentic. Use whatever kind of pasta you like. I would prefer to use a rice pasta (fettuccine style) but we only had the regular wheat kind.

Curry Lo Mein Style Dinner

1 flank steak sliced very thin
1 onion, cut in half and sliced very thin
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons corn starch or arrowroot
1/2 teaspoon organic sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup beef broth
1 carrot, sliced very thin
1/4 of a head of cabbage, sliced very thin
8 ounces pasta (we use rice pasta)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
traditional oil for cooking

Cook pasta according to directions and then toss with sesame oil.
In a small bowl mix together soy sauce, curry powder, corn starch, sugar, garlic powder and beef broth.
In a large (deepish) cast iron skillet heat a little oil (I used coconut oil) and cook the onions over low heat for about 7 minutes until soft.
Add the beef and cook until the beef is almost cook through.
Remove beef and onions from heat.
Add additional cooking oil and cook the carrot over medium high heat for a couple of minutes add the cooked pasta noodles to the pan with the carrots adding additional oil if needed to coat the noodles.
Cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the soy sauce mixture to the skillet and stir to coat (the sauce will thicken up) then add the beef/onion mixture. Stir quickly and let cook for a minute or so until heated through.

Top with plain yogurt, peanuts (or almonds), and/or sriracha chili sauce.

 

Budget Friendly Notes:
This meal could easily be made with chicken or even leftover beef or chicken.
Use anywhere from 1/2 to 2 cups of previously cooked meat.
You can also substitute two or three scrambled eggs for the meat.
Add an extra carrot, more cabbage, or other vegetables as needed to stretch the dish.

 

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