Dana's Shanghaied Steak Stir-fry

There's a couple of dishes I like at Panda Express and one is their Shanghai Angus Steak Stir-fry.  This week I spent a whole day creating a recipe for it.  I was pretty satisfied when I came so close and then my husband said, "I don't know how close it is, but it's definitely much better than Panda's."  The Asian steak sauce was the trickiest but after my experimenting I think the final product is delicious!

Recipe:

5 Tbs oil

1½ lbs beef steak, cut against the grain into rectangular, thick slices

1 Tbs soy sauce

1 Tbs rice wine (I use ⅔ white grape juice and ⅓ rice vinegar)

1 Tbs corn starch

1 Tbs sesame oil

12 oz mushrooms, chunky sliced

1 bunch fat asparagus, sliced on angle (if it's not in season, use broccoli or fresh green beans)

1 small onion,  thinly wedged

4 medium garlic cloves, chopped

Dana's Asian Steak Sauce:

1 Tbs corn starch

2 Tbs soy sauce

2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbs dark soy sauce

1 Tbs blackberry syrup (may substitute another berry) 

Combine steak, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil and corn starch in a bowl to marinate for at least 30 minutes, stirring every so often.

Combine sauce ingredients in small saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk constantly until sauce boils and thickens.  Set aside.  

Heat wok on high until smoking.  Drain juices from meat, drizzle a small amount of oil into the wok and sear steak chunks in batches in very hot wok.  (Searing means you want the outside of the steak pieces to be very browned, especially around the edges.  After putting a batch of meat down in the wok, spread them to one layer and let them sear for 30-60 seconds.  Then turn and do the same on the other side.  If your wok is hot enough this won't take long and the meat will be cooked to about medium in the center.  You will have to add more oil before each batch).  Remove the meat and set aside.  Add more oil to the hot wok, about 4 Tbs.  Add the onion and garlic and stir-fry until the onion starts to be translucent, not very long.  Add the asparagus or broccoli, stir-frying for a minute or two.  Add the mushrooms and stir-fry for 30-60 seconds (during the stir-frying process, you may need to add a little more oil or a squirt of water if the vegetables are too dry).  Add the meat and stir-fry until all the flavors are combined, not very long.  Add the steak sauce, stirring until well combined.  Serve with rice.