Marinating the meat longer than 2 hours just turned it to a slimy, mushy mess. I marinated mine for 2 hours, than drained off the marinade, reserving it for later, patted the meat dry, and browned in batches in a 12-inch skillet so the meat would actually brown. Only after all the meat was browned and added back to the pan, did I add the marinade do the pan. Don't use round steak, it gets tough and rubbery very easy and has a livery taste, use sirloin or flank steak for better tenderness and flavor.

We made this last night and loved it. Used london broil and sliced it partially frozen on the meat slicer so as to get those paper thin slices. Didn't have leeks but don't know as they would've added anything. As suggested, we rolled each one up in a red lettuce leaf, along with about a tablespoon or so of rice that had been cooked with chicken broth and asian seasonings. Using the lettuce made it very refreshing. Although the beef was tender having been sliced so thin, it may benefit from adding a tablespoon of water and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the marinade. This will give you beef that'll melt in your mouth! As for the heat, I thought it'd be too much, but after cooking it really mellowed and even my low-heat tolerant husband agreed that it could be bumped up a bit. All in all, great. Easy, quick cooking, very tasty.

A couple of options regarding the marinade: If done in a wok, cook the meat and veg first. Put on a plate, then add the marinade to the wok and reduce. Pour on top of the meat/veg. If done in a skillet, make sure it is 12" which covers a very large cooking area. Flared skillet is even better. Make sure liquid evaporates as quickly as possible. You want browned meat. In either method, make sure your pan is screaming hot. You can always add soy sauce, but you can't take it away. So marinade your meat using 1/2 soy sauce and 1/2 stock or water. Don't marinade the sesame seeds. As you're heating up your pan, put the sesame seeds in and swirl a couple of times in the dry pan. Reserve and add on top of the cooked mixture. That way, the sesame seeds get toasted, then relax to let the oils re-distribute. Who wants a wet sesame seed? I don't know if it's Chinese, but I added scallions (green onions) at the end. Fabulous. IN the end I separated the meat from the sauce, and cooked soba noodles in the sauce with some water added. This is a great starter recipe. Expand your horizons with it. I made spring rolls with some, and red lettuce leaves with others. Either way it was delicious.

Gary this is DELICIOUS! My husband and I like a little more heat and more complex sweet so I made the following changes: 1. substituted brown sugar for maple syrup 2. upped the red pepper flakes to 1 tbsp AND added 1 tbsp of Asian chili paste (we like food that makes us sweat) 3. Added 1 can of water chestnuts This is a keeper--thanks for sharing!

I am not sure why this is called fire meat. I put in about a tablespoon of pepper and it was hot. I can't image there is much kick with only a teaspoon. I put the sauce in with the meat originally, but all it really did was boil so I poured it off. The meat has a strong sesame flavor, but that was really all I could taste. I probably won't make again.

I'm a lover of Asian food, and unfortunately althought quick and easy to prepare, found this an unimaginative recipe.

This is a great, easy recipe. Perfect when you have a busy day coming up. You can add all kinds of things. I've added ginger, shallots, cabbage, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, celery and toasted sesame seeds. A tip about sesame seeds. You can buy them at a middle eastern market in your city and get about 6 oz. for $1.29 compared to $3.29 for 2 oz. at the supermarket. If I have a lot of veggies in it, I double the marinade and thicken with a cornstarch slurry at the end of cooking. My husband LOVES this dinner and I love making it!

this recipe screams, 'KEEPER'~! I had a cheap old round steak I got reduce priced. This is an excellent way to prepare what can sometimes be a tough old cut of meat. I did not have leeks, so subbed sliced mushrooms. I let this marinate for 24 hours before preparing. By the time I put my rice on the stove and heated my wok at the same time and by the time the rice was done, so was this....I did add a cornstarch slurry at the end to thicken a bit and served over jasmine rice. When putting together the marinade, I used low sodium soy but was about 3 tbsp shy of the specified amt. so used regular soy. Once I got the marinade together, it tasted a bit salty. I added about a tsp more of brown sugar to help balance out. I would recommend using low sodium soy since half cup is what this recipy specifies....but absolutely delish!~ I like spicy so added more tunisian chili powder. *love the sesame seeds for a little crunch and presentation. I also added a handful of beautiful huge cashews to carry on the crunch...mmmmm wonderful addition. This is right up there with Asian Orange Chicken from this site.

I've used the recipe as a marinade for steaks without the leeks, carrot and onion. It's a good and easy recipe that adds a lot of flavor to a steak. It wasn't too hot, which was nice and it teams well with traditional side dishes.

As others have noted, you need to add alot more red pepper flakes to make it really firey. I marinated the meat for about an hour, and was surprised at how much it had absorbed the flavors. Not bad at all. Thanks!