Mess & Match: Stir Fried Black Pepper Beef Farfalle

I felt like messin' & matchin'. Hong Kong/Indonesian style black pepper beef stir fry with pasta. I remember I had a really good Asian infused black pepper beef pasta dish (which was much less of a mess) in Jakarta's Spaghetti House. Too bad I couldn't find the same in Hong Kong, so I've decided to mess it up myself. Living up to my notorious laziness, I threw my vegetables into the pasta stir fry altogether :)

Ingredients
(serves 4)
- approximately 1 pound of beef for stir frying
- 1 red bell pepper, core and seeds removed, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 6 cloves of shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 large zucchini, halved and sliced into 5mm thick pieces
- 4 chicken sausage franks, slice into 3-4mm thick pieces (optional, I just have some leftover in my fridge hehe)
- half a packet of farfalle
- water for boiling
- olive oil, sesame oil (optional), butter
- salt, sugar, black pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce, kecap manis, oyster sauce, go the extra mile by adding sambal abc (if available)
- corn starch

Marinate beef pieces in black pepper, sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, kecap manis, oyster sauce, sambal abc, 1 tbsp corn starch. In 1 tbsp olive oil, brown the chicken franks pieces, then add zucchini until almost cooked, sprinkle a bit of salt and sugar, set aside.

Don't wash the wok. Add two tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp butter, saute garlic, shallot, red bell pepper until fragrant, add beef pieces, stir fry until 3/4 cooked, add zucchini and chicken frank pieces, adjust taste by playing with sauces, add black pepper generously.

At the same time, cook pasta in another pot, follow the instructions in the packet, drain (keep the pasta water), pour pasta into the stir fried beef, mess 'em about, add pasta water to thicken, adjust taste if necessary, serve.

One heck of a mess, but still a perfect match.

Check out more delicious pasta recipes at Presto Pasta Nights