Chili Beef with Broccoli and Oyster Mushrooms

INGREDIENTS (serve this dish over white rice, brown rice, or rice noodles):

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped large
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 dried red chilies, pounded into small flakes
1 small head broccoli, diced
1/2 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved
1/2 pound king oyster mushrooms, sliced into 1/4 inch lengths
12 oz. beef round stir-fry strips
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tsp. honey or agave nectar, or 1 tsp white sugar
2 heaping tablespoons Thai chili sauce (naam prik pow)
1/2 tsp. white pepper
Salt and fresh black pepper to taste
------------------------------------
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

1) Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet. Add dried chili to infuse with the oil, about 1 minute.
2) Add onion and garlic, tossing until garlic is toasted, about 1 more minute.
3) Add beef, oyster sauce, water, soy sauce, sweetener of your choice, white pepper, and Thai chili sauce. Saute about 3 minutes.
4) Add broccoli to the pan along with sugar snap peas and cook for 2 minutes.
5) Finally, add the mushrooms to the hot skillet and cook until just wilted and tender, about 2 minutes.
6) Taste the sauce and add salt or sugar if needed for balance, cracking fresh black pepper over all.
7) Open Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.
8) Enjoy together.

THE BEER:
Dogfish Head is at the forefront of East Coast craft brewing, and the sweet, malty richness of their 90 Minute IPA pairs great with anything spicy, anything influenced by Asian heat. The sauce for this dish was basically inspired by the Cashew Nut Chicken sauce I learned to make in Chiang Mai, but the white pepper gives the beef something to stand up against. Dogfish Head brewers are confident enough not to be afraid to experiment, and when they discovered that a flavor added continually during cooking evinces more nuances in the finished dish than if, say, you'd dumped two tablespoons of black pepper in a recipe right at the end rather than spicing it throughout, they knew they were on to something in the world of hops. This incredibly smooth, honeysuckle-sweet brew is the result.

THE ADVENTURE:

A Word to the Wise on the subject of Chili Lung:

AVOID CHILI LUNG AT ALL COSTS.

1) When adding dry (or fresh) chilies to a skillet of hot oil, do not hover over the skillet.
2) Should you happen to hover over the skillet, do not breathe in.
3) If you happen to inhale airborne essence of hot pepper while cooking, do not laugh, shrug it off, and continue on in the kitchen.
4) Open the window.
5) Run with all your speed.