Tonight’s $5 Dinner Challenge Recipe comes from Cari, the Chief Recipe Wrangler at Can I Get the Recipe!
Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package rice thin noodles (dry)
2 tsp grape seed or vegetable oil
1 pound flank steak, cut into thin strips*
1 small red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 small yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
2 tsp grated ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup beef broth
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
*Throw beef in the freezer for ten minutes then slice. Much easier to make thin slices this way.
Directions
Cook rice noodles according to package directions until just soft. Drain, rinse with cold water then set aside. (Erin here: Use thin spaghetti in place of rice noodles if you don’t need a gluten free meal.)
In a large wok, heat oil over high heat. Add beef, peppers, ginger and garlic and cook until beef is just cooked, about 3 – 5 minutes. Add in beef broth and soy sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat.
Add in spinach and cooked noodles. Heat through until spinach wilts then stir in cilantro before serving in deep bowls.
Can I Get the Recipe Tip: Grape seed oil is now available in many major grocery stores. It is fabulous to use in stir fry cooking as I has a high smoke point (420 degrees F) and has a clean, light neutral taste.
For more great recipes and tips, visit Can I Get the Recipe?.
Sarah (Frontier Kitchen) says
This looks yummy!
Yasmin says
Alternative ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package soba noodles (fresh or dry) (about $1.50)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp La-Yu Chili Oil (about $4 a bottle)
2 tbsp thin sliced ginger
2 tbsp lime ponzu vinegar (between $2 and $5 a bottle, depending on brand)
2 tsp Oroshi (Japanese garlic paste) (under $2)
2 cups baby bok choy OR hakusai (nappa cabbage) ($1.50 to $3 a pound)
I’m lucky to be able to shop (twice a year) at a store in Seattle called Uwajimaya. I stock up on my (non-perishable) Asian ingredients because it’s so inexpensive there. I buy 10 lb bags of dry mushrooms for under $5, 50 lbs bags of rice for less than $20 for premium Jasmine rice. I buy fresh produce from there as well but that will only last two weeks, at most. If you’re lucky to have an Asian grocery store (Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese) then you can get many ingredients for a fraction of the cost then you can at a “normal” grocery store.
All my alternative ingredients are “pricey” but because you don’t use as a much you can stretch it out to last six months to a year.
Also, you can substitute the beef for chicken. I eat ginger beef and ginger chicken stir-fries at least three times a week because it’s so inexpensive and fast to make. I also add bamboo shoots and water chestnuts along with various Japanese mushrooms and other Japanese veggies (when I can get my hands on Japanese veggies).
Personally I don’t use beef or chicken broth but rather pineapple juice or orange juice along with a bit of salt. Yum.
Queen of the House says
I can almost imagine how nummy it smells….I’m sure it tastes fabulous too! 🙂
Amy M says
Is the home page supposed to be a list of your post that you have to click on individually? If so.. meh.. not my fave. 🙂
Amanda says
I noticed the home page is different too and is just a list of the posts, is this correct or something going on with the website?
Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom says
There is some stuff going on in the back end…will be resolved soon 🙂
Nikki says
Thanks. This looks wonderful.
Alta says
Delicious, and I could easily convert it to gluten-free! Yum.
Jessie says
Wow, this looks really good. Would love to try it out. A question – if I don’t have beef broth on hand, but have chicken broth could I substitute the chicken broth or will it mess up the recipe? Thanks a bunch!!!