What spice would go with this simple steak strip meal?

Cafe Society
1

So I made the mistake of seeing The Hobbit on an empty stomach, and the Party scene made me hungry for simple food. So for dinner I made myself this basically stir-fry meal of:

– Thin strips of steak
– Green Peppers
– Onions
– Chunked Tomatoes
– For the second course I also added peanuts, and believe it or not oatmeal just to see what it tasted like (not sure if I did taste anything or not, but it didn’t taste bad)

The only spice I added was pepper (and meat tenderizer). What other spice could I add to make it more flavorful but still retain its simple character?

2

Where’s the garlic? And salt? I’d probably throw in some chunked carrots and celery. Maybe some sage, but I love sage, so if you don’t love it, you might want to leave it out.

3

I don’t know about sage in a stir-fry, but you definitely needed garlic, and I would say ginger as well. In addition, I would add a bit of soy sauce, and then some sriracha, or sambal oelek, or some other chili sauce.

4

Yeah, sage isn’t for everyone, or for every dish, but I love it.

Some fresh cilantro might be good, if the OP likes the flavor of it. I know that a lot of people can’t stand cilantro, though.

5

If you added garlic and oregano (and skipped the peanuts and oatmeal) you’d have the basic ingredients for carne asada. If you added fresh basil, oyster sauce and fish sauce, you’d have a Thai-style stir fry.

6

Sesame oil, soy and garlic would be good choices, as would some sambal oelek or sriracha. Oyster sauce might not be too bad either.

7

For this dish I wasn’t thinking that anything hot-spicy would have the feel I was going for, but sriracha just might, as it brings sort of a heartiness to the table. The suggestions for garlic seem tempting, too.

I’m a weird taster in that I see the soapiness in cilantro but don’t completely hate it. It just isn’t what I’m going for with this particular dish. If I added more vegtables and took out the steak then I might put the cilantro in.

8

Ginger

9

Peanuts, oatmeal? I’d say you’d want to add some cinnamon and nutmeg next, and then you’d have a lovely bowl of steak-and-pepper porridge.

And then I’d hurl.

Seriously, oatmeal?!?

Stepping away from that precipice, I might try some cumin, and definitely some garlic.

I also really like this marinade.

10

oatmeal?

are you stoned?

sage has been mentioned many times, but it’s more of a poultry herb.

just try salt and pepper and go from there. definitely add garlic, ginger, green onion (the asia holy trinity). try fish sauce.

11

Smoked paprika and oreganum.

12

Nope, I’m gonna add even more oatmeal next time! It soaks up the canola oil and tastes fairly good, or at least better than I expected. But it might not taste so good with garlic. We’ll see.

13

Cumin would go well with this combination of ingredients (except for the oatmeal - I don’t know what the oatmeal is doing in there).

14

Lots of excellent choices already mentioned, but I think I would go with melange. You’ll live longer, possibly develop precognitive abilities and have the opportunity for a second career guiding interstellar ships in their travels. And who couldn’t use a little extra cash in this economy?

15

Splash of dark red wine and some crushed garlic.
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