How to make: Lime and Sesame Beef Stir-fry

One of the biggest challenges when on the healthy eating bandwagon is enjoying the process.

Let’s face it, at the end of a hard day, very few of us flop through the front door,  yelling ‘hi Honey, I’m home…and I’m hanging out for a bowl of lettuce…’…said no one, ever.

So, the trick is to feel satisfied, both in the tummy and in the tastebuds.

This recipe is a good one for that. It all comes together so quickly that it’s a great one for mid week meals and, if your lime tree runneth over, it’s another cool and sugar free way to use the fruit.

Eat with chopsticks and your portion controlled meal will feel like it’s stretching a little further too.

This recipe has been adapted (slightly) from Annabel Langbein’s Free Range in the City. Throw in whatever veg is in the fridge. I also use red capsicum sliced thinly, and last night threw in some sliced mushrooms as well. Aside from pushing a serving for 4 into leftovers for tomorrow, it reduces the ratio of carb to veg on your plate.

We also like a kick of chilli, so let your tastebuds guide you on that one.

What you need:

• 500g lean beef cut into seriously thin strips across the grain
• finely grated zest of 2 limes
• 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari)
• 2 teasp sesame oil
• 270g dried udon or soba noodles. Naturally, if you’re gluten intolerant, you’ll need to substitute something here.
• 1 head broccoli cut into small florets
• 1 tbsp neutral oil (I use rice bran oil)
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• ¼ cup water
• 2 heads bok choy, leaves separated and roughly chopped
• a couple of handfuls of snow peas, top and tailed
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced
• a few chillis, de-seeded and finely chopped
• 3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• juice from 2 small limes

What you do with it:

• Mix together the lime zest, garlic, soy sauce & sesame oil. Toss in the beef and marinade while you’re chopping veg and cooking the noodles.
• Speaking of which, re the noodles, follow the instructions on the pack.
• Add the broccoli for the last 2 minutes of the noodle cooking, then drain both, cooling under cold water.
• Heat the oil in a large fry pan and stir fry the beef over high heat for a minute.
• Add oyster sauce, water, bok choy and snow peas and stir fry for another minute.
• Throw in the noodles, broccoli, spring onions and sesame seeds and toss it all about for a couple of minutes until the noodles are heated through.
• Stir in the lime juice, pile onto plates, and serve immediately.