Beef and Barley
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb beef
- 4 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 curry cube or 2 teaspoons of curry
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 green pepper
- 1/2 half red bell pepper
- 1 cup green onions
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 pouch asparagus
- 3 cups barley
- 9 cups water
- 3 tablespoons butter
- Salt to taste
Directions
1Barley has a lot of starch on and in it. Wash it well to prevents it from sticking. But if a sticky blob is what you’re going for, no need to rinse. In the pot, add 9 cups of water, barley, butter, and salt to taste and place it to boil. Keep an eye on the pot as barley will give off a lot of foam at first and can cause the pot to boil over. When the barley has reached a boil, lower the heat to a low simmer, cover, and continue to cook until the barley is done. For pearl barley, start checking at 25 minutes for hulled barley, start checking at 40 minutes. The barley is done when it has tripled in volume and is soft yet chewy. Add more water if the pan becomes dry before the barley has finished cooking. Check every 5 minutes until desired chewiness is reached.
2While barley is cooking we will start on beef. Wash the meat and cut it into bite-size pieces, wash and cut all the vegetables. Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces. In the deep frying pan heat up the oil, add beef, and brown it till golden brown. Add onions and fry it till onions become translucent, add carrots. Fry it for a few minutes and add green and red bell peppers and all of the spices including garlic. Fry it for another 3 to 4 minutes and add corn starch, mix well and add 5 cups of water. Mix well and bring it to a boil. Turn it down to simmer, cover it with the lid and simmer it for about 20 to 25 minutes.
3Add asparagus. I don’t like my asparagus mooshy so I will only be cooking it for about 3 minutes. But you can cook it to your liking. Add green onions and salt to taste. Mix well and get it off the heat. Dish up barley, pour veggies and beef over barley and, enjoy!
