The Great McDonald's Stir Fry

This certainly didn't start out as a story involving McDonald's. I wanted to make a legitimate Vietnamese dish of beef and french fries, a colonized spin on the French bistro classic steak frites. You never find it in restaurants because it's just something you would cook at home. I decided I'd had enough of not getting to eat it, which meant that I would have to learn how to cook it myself. I consulted the web and my cookbook, The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam, and made an amalgamation of my findings. It was the first time I've ever made my own french fries, a very satisfying experience. Dropping raw potato in hot oil and watching the vat bubble up and transform the sticks into golden lovelies...aaah.

In the end, the dish was only a partial success. I liked it well enough, but I knew it could be better. I hadn't consulted central command, my mother. Look at the picture below. Do you see how there is no caramelization on the beef? It looks dead, it doesn't sing. All of the recipes I had read had given me vague instructions about the stir frying process, resulting in beef that was slightly tough.

So, I called my mom up. The first thing she said was  "Why did you make your own french fries? Go to McDonald's." When I was a kid, I knew she used frozen french fries, but wasn't aware of the switch to McDonalds. Well, considering she makes this dish to be eaten with 2 or 3 other dishes on a weeknight, the use of McDonald's makes perfect sense, time-wise. Then she said, "Ask them for fresh french fries, no salt." Hmm. I don't have my mother's pluck, certainly not at the Canal Street McDonald's. I got mine with salt, and hoped for the best.

The most crucial advice she gave me, though, involved the handling of the beef. First, you have to use flank steak (London Broil). You have to cut it across the grain, to tenderize it, and then you have to marinate it, to tenderize it some more. And this piece of advice, is what I will carry with me for as long as I stir fry: when the pan is smoking hot, add the beef in, spread it over the pan and DON'T TOUCH IT. Just let it sit there browning. Then, you can stir it around. When I am stir-frying, I have this tendency to want to stir constantly. That's alright when you are working with vegetables, but thinly sliced beef has to caramelize the same way as a thick piece of steak, just in a shorter amount of time.

My mom uses soy sauce instead of fish sauce, which all the the other recipes called for. As a general rule, she likes soy sauce for beef and chicken sautés. I wonder if this is because she is from Hanoi which is the closest major city to China. Also, the other big thing she does, which none of the recipes mentioned, was to take the beef out and let it sit in a bowl, while you make the sauce. You add the beef again at the very end. This bit really makes the dish, saving the beef from getting soggy and overcooked. The dish was infinitely better - deliceux! A major breakthrough in the future of my meat stir fries.

Mom's Beef with French Fry Recipe (Thit Bo Va Khoai Tay Chien)

Marinade: Marinate 1/2 pound London Broil/flank steak (very thinly sliced against the grain) with 1 minced clove of garlic, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 2 spoons oil (vegetable or olive), black pepper, 1/8 teaspoon sugar

Sauce: 1 tomato diced, 1/2 onion chopped chopstick size (which is mom-speak for a small dice), 1 1/2 tea spoon of tapioca powder diluted in 2 oz of water or chicken broth and 1 teaspoon soy sauce (I didn't have tapioca powder so I used 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch diluted in 5 tablespoons cold water and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. I do agree with her that tapioca flour gives a clearer sauce, making it more brothy instead of gloopy).

Other: Home made french fries or 1 medium Mcdonald's french fries (The fries can sit around for awhile, you don't have to rush around trying to make it so that the fries are fresh, because they keep well for this dish), 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, 1 cup rice.

1) Prepare rice according to instructions. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in the pan on high heat until the pan is smoking. Put the marinated beef in and spread it over the pan. Do not stir it. Let it sit there for 2 minutes until the bottom of the beef is browned. Stir for a little bit (maybe 15 seconds). Then take the beef out and set aside in a bowl. (It should be cooked medium rare.)

2) In the same pan, heat additional 2 teaspoons oil on medium high heat. Add onion and stir well for 2 minutes. Add tomato and stir well for 2 more minutes.

Add tapioca or cornstarch mixture. Stir well until the tomatoes have cooked down into the mixture and the sauce is slightly thickened. Add the cooked beef. Stir for a second, just to heat it up a bit. Then add fries and stir for a second.

Take out of pan immediately. Garnish with cilantro and some black pepper on top. Serve immediately with rice.

Comments

[harshad]

I'm not sure i should read your blog much. it makes me hungry... and i start eating ha ha

[Doug]

Whan an original sounding dish Michelle.

I would never think to incorporate MCDONALDS into my cooking! For all their faults, who doesn't like their fries?

[Michelle]

Harshad, Don't read my blog at 4 o'clock. That is the the ultimate hungry time.

Doug, Thank you! Yeah, I would have never thought of it, except I've learned mother's are usually right. McDonald's fries do stand the test of time though.

[dee]

this was cracking me up. don't touch it! and don't lift the lid on the rice! - often heard screams from my mom's kitchen, and now my own. it's the hardest thing to do, just to leave it alone.

when will i ever be able to eat beef again? sigh...

[Wandering Chopsticks]

This is VNese? I've never heard of it before. But I'd totally be all over it. :) Reminds me of that Peruvian dish lomo saltado.

[Terry B]

This sounds delicious, McDonald's fries and all. And the French bistro influence reminds me of a dish my wife makes. It's a Vietnamese beef stew that harkens back to French colonial days, so it's served with a baguette, not rice, and eaten with flatware, not chopsticks.

[krisp]

My dad used to make this for my sister and me when we were younger. His take on the dish didn't involve a tomato. I think the addition of the tomato makes the dish seem healthier. This is, healthier only if you buy into Ronald Reagan's thinking that ketchup is a vegetable. Anyways, Michelle's version looks delish! I'm gonna give it a try.

[Quyen]

i love french fries from mc donalds... all this food is making me hungry... = )

[Michelle]

Hi Dee, heh heh. I can just hear Min Mei saying those things, that cutie. I should write a sign next to my stove with those instructions. I think it's time you sampled a nibble of beef again.

Wandering Chopsticks, Hello. It's a funny dish that you don't really see unless your mother/father makes it. I don't think cookbooks are really too keen to include it. Yeah, I guess it is similar to lomo saltado, except the Peruvians are boozier :)

Hi Krisp, Thanks! Yeah the tomato makes it completely healthful and is actually an age reducer.:)

Hi Quyen, It's a pleasure to make you hungry. Maybe you should make a pit stop at Mickey Dees.

[Steamy Kitchen]

OMG. I MUST make this dish!!! I love McD french fries.

Thats funny your mom told you use McD! I call my mom Central Command Station too!

[Michelle]

Hi Steamy Kitchen, you should try making it - it's fun. Hee hee, and I'm glad you are a cook who pays proper respect to your mom. :)

[Krista]

I'm a little late to the game but I love the idea of a stir-fry using french fries. Especially fast food fries. Now, I'm trying to think of other uses for pre-cooked fries.

[Paul]

k - this may be common knowledge, but i find that they're delicious dipped in a mcd vanilla shake.

[Michelle]

Hey Krista,

Re: Paul's message. Yes, recently I saw a lady on the subway furiously dipping her fries into herMcD's vanilla ice cream cone and I was intrigued, puzzled. Which leads to the idea of french fry desserts, etc. Chocolate dipped fries? Mole dipped fries?

[Tom]

I think the best part of the photo is that you use part of the McD's French fry cardboard as a chopstick holder!

[Michelle]

Nice catch there, Tom!