Stir-Fried Beef with garlic, eggplant, scallions, and cashews

I took a recipe from Cook's Illustrated July/Aug 2010 issue and altered it slightly. The original is here: http://www.angelfire.com/games4/pyramidclub/EggplantGarlicShrimp.txt (basically swap shrimp for beef and add 2 T oyster sauce). DH doesn't like shrimp so I used beef. Also, I decreased the sugar from 2 T to 1 tsp. We both really loved it. It stands well on its own without rice. The eggplant adds a lot to the dish.

Serves 4
Serve this stir-fry with steamed white rice.

6 medium garlic cloves, peeled
1 pound skirt or flank steak, cut in strips against grain
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry or Xiaoshing wine
1 teapoon sugar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons cornstarch
6 large scallions, greens cut into 1-inch pieces and whites sliced thin
1/2 cup unsalted cashews
1 medium eggplant (about 3/4 pound), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice

1. Mince 1 garlic clove and combine with beef, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and salt in medium bowl. Let beef marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, whisk soy sauce, sherry, sugar, sesame oil, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and cornstarch in small bowl. Thinly slice remaining 5 garlic cloves and combine with scallion whites and cashews in small bowl.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add eggplant cook, stirring frequently, lightly browned, 3 to 6 minutes. Add scallion greens and continue to cook until scallion greens begin to brown and eggplant is fully tender, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer vegetables to medium bowl.

4. Add remaining tablespoon oil to now-empty skillet and heat until just smoking.
Add sliced garlic mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until just beginning to brown, about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium-low, add beef, and cook, stirring frequently, until beef is no longer pink on outside, 2 or 3 minutes. Whisk sauce to recombine, add to skillet; return to high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and beef is cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Return vegetables to skillet, toss to combine, and serve.