Local New Jersey green peppers were on sale at Whole Foods for 99 cents per pound last week, so I just couldn’t resist stocking up on them. Peppers freeze well, so I bought about six pounds, cut them up, bagged them, and stuck them in the freezer for the future.
Today, I decided to take some of the peppers, and make a great cheap Asian meal with them. I was able to make this meal with nothing more than 2 peppers, a 1/2 lb. of grass-fed beef (which was on sale at whole foods for $3.99 per pound), a package of rice noodles, and some pantry items. The best thing about this was that the recipe made about 6 large servings – enough for plenty of leftovers. This recipe was adapted from my mom’s traditional recipe, which used more ingredients. By cutting out some ingredients, and using only what was on sale and what I had at the house, I was able to spend much less on this meal. Of course, it would be great to make it with all of the ingredients, but I’m unemployed, and being able to eat more balanced meals on a limited budget is so much more important.
If you order these noodles in a restaurant, the noodles are usually pan fried. My mom doesn’t pan fry the noodles. Instead, she just puts the sauce on top, which makes them so much healthier because it cuts down on the amount of oil used (ho fun noodles soak up oil like a sponge).
Chinese Flat Rice Noodles With Green Peppers and Beef
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. beef – thinly sliced
2 green peppers – cut into 1-inch pieces
1 package of wide rice noodles (ho fun)
1 tablespoon rice wine
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup corn starch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black bean sauce
3 tablespoons oil
Directions:
Boil water and cook the rice noodles according to package instructions.
While the noodles are cooking, marinate the beef with rice wine, sugar, 1 tablespoon of corn starch, and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce.
In a mixing bowl, prep the sauce by stirring the remaining corn starch and soy sauce together with the water, salt, and black bean sauce, then set aside.
Put the oil in a wok or skillet, heat until shimmering, and put the beef in. Stir the beef until brown, then remove from the wok.
Put the peppers in the wok, cook for about 5 minutes on high heat, then reduce the heat to low and slowly pour in the sauce mixture in. Stir until sauce thickens to desired consistency. Add the beef back in and stir until heated through.
Now just plate the noodles, and spoon the beef/pepper mixture on top and serve.
This meal, including the cost of pantry items, came to under $7 for 6 servings. The best thing about this is that many of these ingredients can be substituted for other things that may be cheaper in your area. The main things you need here are the rice noodles, oil, and corn starch, salt, and soy sauce for the sauce mixture. You can use whatever meats or veggies that you find on sale, and skip many of the other ingredients to save money if need be.
