Beef and Sweet Potato Stir-Fry

This beef and sweet potato stir-fry is really simple to make and easy to whip up on a week night. 

If you marinate the beef in the morning, you can create this dinner in less than 20 minutes. No rice required, and it's nutritious! 

Did you know that November is National Sweet Potato Awareness Month? The Sunday Funday group couldn't pass up the opportunity to create dishes with sweet potatoes. Plus, now that fall is in full swing, and with the holidays coming, it's so nice to have more sweet potato recipes. 

It's such a versatile vegetable and can be used in breads, such as Portuguese rolls, desserts, such as pecan cookies and tarts, soups, such as black bean and sweet potato, and as a traditional side dish such as twice baked sweet potatoes or honey garlic sweet potatoes. 

This stir fry fits the bill as a complete dinner. 

Ingredients in this Sweet Potato Stir-Fry:

Spices: Cinnamon, cloves, and crushed red peppers. 

Asian Flavors: Sesame oil, soy sauce, and grated fresh ginger. 

Apple Butter: For added sweetness. You could also substitute apple sauce or apple jelly. 

Garlic. 

Neutral Oil: For stir-frying. 

Vegetables: Sweet onions, baby spinach, green beans, and sweet potatoes. 

Flank Steak. 

To Make this Stir-Fry:

First, marinate the beef. Cut it into 2 inch strips and marinate it in a mixture of the sesame oil, apple butter, cinamon, cloves, soy sauce, red peppers, garlic, and ginger. 

While the beef is marinating, cut the sweet potatoes into chunks and simmer them in water for about five minutes. Remove the sweet potatoes and add the beans to the same water and simmer them briefly. 

After that, heat your wok or large skillet and add the oil. Then cook the beef, spreading it out on the pan to sear it, and then stir-fry it for a minute or two. 

Finally, add the sweet potatoes, beans, and spinach and stir fry everything for another minute or so. The whole process should only take about 20 minutes from start to finish, not counting the time to marinate the beef. 

Tips for Success:

Be sure to cut the flank steak into two-inch strips with the grain, and then into 1/4 inch thick slices against the grain. 

Cut the sweet potatoes into fairly uniform-sized pieces for even cooking. 

As with any stir-fry, set up your mise en place in advance and read the recipe thoroughly before cooking. Stir-frying moves pretty quickly and the wok or pan is typically very hot. I also like to use a digital timer for each step just to keep track. If there are a lot of steps, line up your ingredient bowls in the order that you will be using them along with a Post-It or quick list as a reminder of the next step. 

For more recipes using sweet potatoes, be sure to check out everyone's Sunday Funday dishes. They include chili and a stew, side dishes, and even a sweet potato sushi!

Sunday Funday - Sweet Potatoes

• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Beef and Sweet Potato Stir Fry 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili 
• Food Lust People Love: Miso Honey Roasted Hasselback Sweet Potatoes 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Shakkariya Nu Shaak
• Culinary Cam: Spiced Sweet Potato-Red Lentil Stew 
• Sneha's Recipe: Sweet Potato Patties 
• Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking: Sweet Potato Sushi

Beef and Sweet Potato Stir-Fry

Yield: 4

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 20 MinInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 35 M

This beef and sweet potato stir-fry is really simple to make and easy to whip up on a week night. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon apple butter
• Pinch of cinnamon
• dash of ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 pound flank steak, cut into 2 inch by 1/4 inch slices
• 1 cup of 1 inch chunks of sweet potatoes
• 1 heaping cup of green beans
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil, preferably peanut or grape seed oil
• 1 cup of thinly sliced sweet onions
• 1 cup baby spinach

Instructions

1. Mix the sesame oil, apple butter, cinnamon, cloves, soy sauce, red peppers, garlic, and ginger in a medium/large bowl.
2. Toss the above ingredients with the beef, cover, and refrigerate to marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to eight hours.
3. Bring about 2 1/2 cups of water to boil and add the sweet potato chunks. Boil for 5 to 7 minutes.
4. With a spider or slotted spoon, remove the potatoes from the pot and place them on a plate.
5. Add the green beans to the same water and simmer for about 4 minutes. Drain and add the beans to the potatoes.
6. Heat a wok, and when it is hot, swirl in the neutral oil.
7. Add the beef and the onions and spread the ingredients in a single layer over the surface of the wok or skillet. Let cook for about a minute without disturbing. Begin stir frying and toss for another two minutes.
8. Add the rest of the vegetables, including the spinach, and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes, until the beef is cooked through.
9. Serve!

Nutrition Facts

Calories

257

Fat (grams)

10 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

3 g

Carbs (grams)

15 g

Fiber (grams)

3 g

Net carbs

12 g

Sugar (grams)

6 g

Protein (grams)

27 g

Cholesterol (grams)

68 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2014/02/beef-and-sweet-potato-stir-fry.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

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Adapted with permission from Natural Noshings, as part of Secret Recipe Club.