Styling and Photography by Sina Mizrahi

This recipe is as awesome as it is easy. The best part is that all of my kids actually liked it, and that’s saying a lot! Please don’t skip the extra step of velveting the steak — it makes all the difference between a tender versus a chewy piece of meat

SERVES 4–6

• 1½ lb (680 g) pepper steak, thinly sliced against the grain
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• 6½ cups cold water, divided
• salt, for sprinkling
• 3 Tbsp oil, plus more for stir-frying
• 1 large Spanish onion, diced
• 16 oz (450 g) sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 3 packages ramen noodles, imitation chicken flavor
• sliced scallions, for garnish
• toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Sauce

• ¼ cup teriyaki sauce
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 3 Tbsp sherry
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1½ Tbsp honey
• ⅛ tsp dried ginger
• 3 ramen spice packets

Dice pepper steak into tiny 0.5x0.5-inch (1x1-cm) pieces. Place into a large bowl and sprinkle with baking soda from high up. (This way you get a thin layer over all of the meat.) Next, add 1/4 cup water and massage the beef so the baking soda and water is uniformly distributed. The baking soda tenderizes the meat and prevents it from becoming tough and chewy when stir-frying.

Allow the meat to rest for 45–60 minutes. Rinse well in cold water and pat dry. Sprinkle lightly with salt and set aside.

While the meat is velveting, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the ramen noodles, setting aside the spice packets for the sauce. Boil for 4–5 minutes, stirring gently several times, to break up the noodles. Drain and set aside. Combine sauce ingredients and set it aside.

In a large wok or frying pan, sauté the onion in 3 Tbsp of oil until soft and golden. Add the mushrooms and continue to sauté over high heat for an additional 8–10 minutes or until soft and juices have evaporated. Remove onions and mushrooms from the pan and add more oil for stir-frying. Heat until almost smoking. Add the beef to the pan in several batches, stir-frying quickly over high heat for about 3–4 minutes per batch, or until cooked through. Between batches, drain any liquid that forms and add more oil as necessary, taking care to heat it up to almost smoking again before adding more meat.

When all of the meat is cooked, return it all to the pan, along with the mushroom-onion mixture and the ramen noodles. Pour the sauce over everything, stirring well to coat. Cook for several minutes, stirring gently until heated through. Transfer to a serving dish and top with sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 779)