Cashew Beef Stir-Fry

Saturday, December seventh. We won. Twenty-eight to twenty-four. Eldorado Prep is the Colorado 5A state champion. I am writing this Sunday morning. I have not slept yet. I have been awake since the game ended last night around ten-thirty. I have been on the patio, in the kitchen, in the den, in the patio again, in a circle of trying to absorb the thing that happened. I cannot absorb it. I am writing it down so I do not lose it.

The game was at Mile High Stadium. There were nineteen thousand people in the building. Most of them were ours. The Cherry Creek crowd was big — wait, Pomona — the Pomona crowd was big and loud and confident. Their team had been twelve and oh. Their team had had two SEC offers in their backfield. Their team was favored by seven and a half. Their team played a great first half — they were up fourteen to seven at halftime. Their running back, Jamal Reyes, had eighty-three rushing yards in the first half. We had not slowed him down. We had bent and we had not broken, but we were down a touchdown.

I gave a halftime speech. I do not remember exactly what I said. The notes I wrote on the whiteboard included the word HOLD and the word TRUST and the word FOURTH. I told the kids the game was going to be won in the fourth quarter. I told them they had to play their best football of the year for the next twenty-four minutes. I told them the universe had given them the fourth quarter to write the chapter they would carry the rest of their lives. The kids nodded. Daquan was in tears. Marcus was steel-eyed. Diego was watching me like a hawk watches a mouse. We went out for the second half.

The third quarter was a grind. We tied the game at fourteen on a methodical eighty-yard drive that took up nine minutes of clock and ended with a Marcus quarterback keeper from the three. They scored on their next drive on a beautiful pass play to put it back at twenty-one to fourteen. We answered with a field goal early in the fourth to make it twenty-one to seventeen. They drove down to our twelve with about six minutes left and Daquan got a sack on third-and-eight. They kicked a field goal to go up twenty-four to seventeen. Three minutes left. We needed a touchdown.

The drive started at our own twenty-eight. We got two first downs on quick passes. We faced a third-and-eight from our forty-six. Mike Reyes called the shovel pass — yes, the same play we had used against Cherry Creek in the semifinal. Pomona had not seen it. Pomona's linebackers had not been keying for it. The shovel pass went to the tight end and got us thirty-four yards. We were on their twenty. Two minutes left. First and goal from the twenty.

We ran the ball. We threw a quick out. We ran the ball again. We were on the ten. Third and four. One minute, fifty seconds left.

I called the play.

The play was a deep out to Diego. We had been setting it up all game with shorter outs and slants on Diego's side. Pomona's corner had been jumping the underneath routes. The deep out was the answer. Marcus dropped back. The pocket held. Diego ran the deep out. The corner jumped. Diego was open in the back of the end zone. Marcus threw a perfect ball — high, on the back shoulder, where only Diego could catch it. Diego caught it. The ball stuck in his hands. Both feet down. Touchdown. Diego Medina. State championship. Eldorado Prep up twenty-four to twenty-three with one minute, twelve seconds left in the game. We made the extra point. Twenty-five to twenty-four. We needed to hold.

Pomona had one drive left. They had the ball at their own twenty-five with one twelve to play. They drove. They got to midfield. They threw incomplete on first down. Daquan got a tackle for loss on second down. They threw incomplete on third down. Fourth and twelve from our forty-eight with twenty-three seconds left. They threw deep. The ball was contested. Anthony went up. Anthony came down with the ball. Interception. The clock ran out.

I dropped to a knee on the sideline. I do not remember the next three or four minutes. The boys were dogpiling. Tony Davis was on his knees on the field. Mike Reyes was hugging the offensive line coach. The crowd was screaming. Confetti was falling. Diego was running toward me. Diego ran into me. He put his head on my chest. He said, "Dad. Dad. Dad." I said, "Mijo. Mijo. Mijo." That was all I said. That was all I could say.

The trophy ceremony. The team picture. The locker room. The press. The school AD. Mrs. Burns hugging me at the tunnel. Hayley hugging Diego. Lisa across the field, in the stands, with tears running down her face. The walk to the bus. The bus ride to the school. The unloading at midnight. The boys going home with their families. Mike and Tony and the staff in the field house at one in the morning, sitting in chairs, not saying much, just being in the same room.

I drove home at one-thirty. Lisa was in the truck with me. The radio was off. We sat in the truck in the driveway. I did not get out. I started crying. Not the controlled crying I did at championship-related moments earlier in life. I sobbed. I sobbed in a way I had not sobbed since the night Ruben died. I sobbed for the team. For Diego. For Mamá. For Papá. For Ruben — for Ruben, who would have been at this game, who would have been on the field with the trophy, who would have been the loudest man in the stadium, who has been gone for seven years and who I have been carrying for every game and who would have loved this. I sobbed for all of it. Lisa held my hand. She did not say anything. She let me cry. We sat in the truck for forty minutes. Then we went into the house. Diego was already asleep. The trophy was on the kitchen table.

Sunday morning, six. The trophy is still on the kitchen table. The dog tags are around my neck. I am writing this. I will not forget any of it. The road bends. The road has bent. Feed your people. The game is won at the table. The game has been won.

Sunday morning I had Diego’s trophy on the kitchen table and nothing planned for breakfast or lunch because I had spent four days preparing for a football game and zero minutes preparing for the life that came after it. Lisa found beef in the freezer and cashews in the pantry and told me to make something, so I made this — a stir-fry I’ve thrown together maybe a hundred times when the week has wiped us out and the family still needs to eat. That morning it tasted different. Everything tasted different. Feed your people. The game is won at the table.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb flank steak or sirloin, thinly sliced against the grain
1 cup whole roasted cashews (unsalted)
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup snap peas, trimmed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
3 green onions, sliced (whites and greens separated)
2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
Cooked white or jasmine rice, for serving
For the marinade: 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tsp sesame oil
For the sauce: 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp hoisin sauce, 1/4 cup low-sodium beef broth, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

Marinate the beef. In a bowl, combine the sliced beef with soy sauce, cornstarch, and sesame oil. Toss to coat and let sit for at least 10 minutes while you prep the other ingredients.
Mix the sauce. Whisk together soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, beef broth, sesame oil, and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
Sear the beef. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until shimmering. Add the beef in a single layer — do not crowd the pan. Sear for 1–2 minutes per side until browned but not fully cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
Cook the aromatics and vegetables. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Add garlic, ginger, and the white parts of the green onions. Stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the bell pepper and snap peas and cook for 2–3 minutes until just tender but still crisp.
Combine everything. Return the beef to the pan. Pour the sauce over the top and toss to coat everything evenly. Cook for 1–2 minutes until the sauce thickens and the beef is cooked through.
Add the cashews and serve. Stir in the cashews and the green parts of the green onions. Serve immediately over hot cooked rice.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cashew Beef Stir-Fry — The Meal We Made the Morning After We Won