Aromatic Vietnamese Beef Stir Fry

My darling mother gave me her electric wok. It's in perfect condition so I am ever so grateful! One of the things that always puts me off doing a stir fry is managing a wok... I'm about as good at that as I am managing chop sticks! But with an electric wok all my problems are solved!

I was cooking a belated birthday dinner for Andy and Laura. Laura is trying to eat low carbs and I'm still on this no carb diet so I thought this recipe would suit us just fine! Unfortunately I forgot to buy fish sauce so I added lots of salt instead... It tasted fantastic. There wasn't a scrap of food left at the end. But I assume it would be even more delicious if I wasnt such a bimbo and forgot the fish sauce. I know there will definately be a next time for this dish though! It took ten minutes and was a breeze!

2 tablespoons peanut oil

800g beef strips

1 medium onion, chopped finely

1 long red chilli, chopped finely

10cm stick lemongrass, chopped finely

3 medium bulbs garlic, crushed

4 cardimom pods, bruised

1 quill of cinnamon

1 star anaise

2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

350g snake beans, cut in 4cm lengths

1/4 cup sliced almonds, roasted

1/2 cup fresh corriander, chopped

Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to the wok and brown meat. Set the meat aside but cover with alfoil to keep it warm. Add the remaining tablespoon of peanut oil. Fry the onions until soft. Add the garlic, chilli, lemongrass, cardimom, cinnamon, star anaise and the beans. Fry until the beans are soft. Remove the cardimom pods, cinnamon quil and the star ainaise.

Drain the meat and return it to the wok. Stir fry for another few minutes and serve into a bowl. Sprinkle the almonds and corriander over the top. Serve.

E.