Cuban-Style Stir Fry with Tropical Salsa and Yellow Rice

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 pounds beef tips, cut into large bite-size pieces

  • 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 3 onions, sliced

  • 5 garlic cloves, chopped

  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano (eyeball it) or 1 stem fresh oregano, chopped

  • 1 tablespoon cumin (eyeball it)

  • 1 bottle of beer

  • 1-2 tablespoons hot sauce

  • Juice of 2 limes

  • Zest of 1 orange

  • 1 can black beans (15 ounces), drained of half its liquid

  • 1 sack plantain chips, found in the international foods with Hispanic foods

For the salsa:

  • 1 mango or papaya, cut into small pieces

  • 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

  • 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves (a small handful), chopped

  • Juice of 1 lime

  • Salt and pepper

For the yellow rice:

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

  • 1 small onion, chopped

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (eyeball it)

  • 1 fresh or dry bay leaf

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 cup enriched white rice

  • 1 3/4 cups chicken stock

Directions

Make the salsa: combine mango or papaya, onion, jalapeño, cilantro and lime juice in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and set aside. Start the rice: place a medium-size saucepot over medium heat. Add one tablespoon of EVOO, the chopped onion, turmeric, bay leaf and some salt and pepper, and cook for about one minute. Add rice and stir, coating the grains with the spices and EVOO. Add chicken stock, raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat back down to medium, put a lid on the pot and cook until the rice is tender, about 18-20 minutes. While the rice is cooking, start the meat: Place a large nonstick skillet over high heat with two turns of the pan of EVOO, about two tablespoons. Season beef tips with salt and pepper, and add to the hot skillet in an even layer. Brown for three minutes, then flip and continue to brown for another two minutes. Add sliced onion, garlic, oregano and cumin to the beef. Cook, stirring frequently, for about five minutes. Add the bottle of beer, hot sauce, lime juice and orange zest and stir. Add the black beans and continue to cook until they are heated through, about two minutes. Fluff rice with a fork before spooning it onto plates. Top rice with the stir fry and finish it off with plantain chips and a spoonful of the salsa.