Spicy Beef and Orange Stir Fry

Today I want to share another recipe.  This is a simple-to-make dish that is full of flavor and gluten free!  It comes together in about 45 minutes so it’s perfect for those busy nights. I often substitute the deer meat for beef since we have an abundance of meat in our freezer.

Spicy Beef & Orange Stir Fry

2-3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1 pound beef, cut into thin strips

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1 crown of broccoli, approximately 2 cups broken into bite sized pieces

1 red pepper, cut into strips

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

Zest from 1 orange, about 1 ½ tablespoons

Juice from 1 large orange or two small oranges, you will need ½ cup of juice

2 tablespoons honey

¼ cup soy sauce

2 teaspoons corn starch

¼-½ teaspoon pepper, freshly ground if possible

1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, optional

10 oz stir fry rice noodles

Cook noodles according to package instructions.  Rinse in cold water and set aside.

Prepare veggies by chopping onion, pepper, and separating the broccoli into bite sized pieces. Set aside in a bowl. Slice beef into thin strips and place in a separate bowl. Peel and set garlic cloves aside.  Zest the orange and slightly chop the zest into smaller strips. Extract the juice from the orange into a cup making sure it measures ½ cup of juice.  Mix in with orange zest.  To the orange mixture add honey, soy sauce, and corn starch whisking until combined. 

In wok heat the 2 tablespoons sesame oil until shimmery. Sauté beef in the oil for 5 minutes; add pepper and red pepper flakes to beef while sautéing. Remove beef with slotted spoon reserving the drippings in the wok. Set beef aside.  Add veggies to pan and put garlic through a garlic press.  You may add additional 1 tablespoon sesame oil or you can add ¼ cup water to the pan instead.  Stir fry veggies and garlic for 5 minutes or until tender/crisp. Add cooked beef back into pan. Add the orange/soy sauce mixture to the beef and veggies and stir together until the sauce is slightly thickened.  Add rice noodle and stir fry together until combined.

Serves 6-8

Not a fan of spicy food?  Omit the red pepper flakes and it’s still delicious! Shy of a ½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice?  Add a little orange juice from the carton to make up the difference. Don’t like rice noodles? This is also great over soba noodles or rice. These are the noodles I use in this recipe.