Pineapple Beef Stir-Fry

I had a bag of frozen mixed veggies and I thought it would go well with beef. I decided to make pineapple-beef stir fry for a quick meal. The result was delicious, however, I realized the dish could have been better had I used fresh instead of frozen vegetables - mainly because the broccoli kinda' broke down into miniature florets.

The taste was still good, though. I loved the pineapple in the dish because it was a contrast  to the savory ingredients.


What you need:

1/2 cup lightly sweetened pineapple juice
1/4 cup unsweetened pineapple tidbits
2 tablespoon white wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3/4 lb top sirloin steak, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 small onion, sliced thinly
12 oz mixed stir-fry veggies
dash of cayenne pepper


What to do: 

In a small bowl, combine pineapple juice,  white wine, soy sauce, cornstarch and cayenne pepper. Set aside.

In a large non-stick skillet or wok, heat the olive oil over medium-high and stir fry the beed slices. Cook until no longer pink; remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm. The reason for this is so you don't over cook the meat.

Add in the frozen veggies and stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender. Stir the cornstarch mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for about 4 minutes or until thickened. Add beef and pineapple and heat through. Serve with rice.


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks: 

1. I've mentioned it already - use fresh veggies if possible. Carrots, broccoli, snow peas, baby corn, etc!
2. Throw in a few cashew nuts - they always go well with stir fry!
3. Don't overcook the meat - you don't want chewy beef!
4. If you don't like saucy stir fry, just marinate the beef in the sauce mixture (minus the cornstarch) and discard the sauce.