The beef: chop up the raw beef into small pieces. Pat dry with paper towels and place in a bowl. Don’t even think about ditching the marinade as this will become an ingredient in the sauce.
The aromatics, veggies & spices:
-3 cloves of minced garlic
-1 2-inch knob of peeled, fresh ginger, minced
-1/2 yellow onion, diced
-1/2 red bell pepper, diced
-1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
-1 small carrot, peeled and diced
The sauce:
-1 lime, zested and juiced
-Reserved marinade
-1 15oz can tomato sauce
-1 tablespoon Sriracha (optional)
-2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
-1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
-2 tablespoons brown sugar
-2 teaspoons kosher salt
-1 teaspoon white pepper
The slaw:
-3 cups pre-packaged cole slaw mix
-1/4 cup Kewpie (Japanese) mayo, or regular mayo
-1 lime, zested and juiced
-1 teaspoon brown sugar
-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
-1/4 teaspoon white pepper
The bun:
-Totally democratic. It’s your choice — just pick one that has some structure and won’t turn to total mush. I like a good ol’ Kaiser roll.
Garnish:
-2 sprigs of cilantro, stems trimmed
To make the slop: In a large stainless steel pan, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Cook the beef until browned. Remove from the pan and add all of the vegetables. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and white pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes until softened. Add the beef back in. Deglaze the pan with the lime juice and zest, scraping any of those delicious brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the reserved marinade and bring to a boil before adding the tomato sauce, Hoisin sauce, five spice and brown sugar. Bring to a boil once again and then lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
To make the slaw: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mayo, lime zest & juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Add the cabbage slaw.
To assemble: On the bottom half of an untoasted roll, liberally spoon the sloppy joe mixture. Don’t be shy — you gotta just go for it. Top with a generous heap of slaw, fresh cilantro and finish with the top bun.