Saturday 22 November 2014

Stir-Fried Chili Beef with Vegetables






This is a spicy beef dish that gets its deep Asian flavour from the hot bean sauce. I found the hot bean sauce at an Asian market, but if you cannot find it , you can use chili garlic sauce for good results. This recipe serves 4. I doubled it for my family and even had some leftovers for the next day.

12 oz. flank steak or beef tenderloin, sliced thin


3 Tbs. white wine or dry sherry


1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger


2 tsp. soy sauce


1-1/2 tsp. cornstarch


Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper


1 tsp. plus 2 Tbs. peanut or vegetable oil


2 Tbs. chili bean sauce, chili garlic sauce, or Sriracha


2 Tbs. hoisin sauce


1 Tbs. minced garlic (from 3 medium cloves)


6 oz. snow peas, (about 2 cups)


1 medium red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2 x 2-inch strips


8 medium scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal (about 1 cup)


2 Cups chopped baby bok choy

Cut the beef with the grain into 2-inch-wide strips, and then cut each strip across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add 1 Tbs. of the wine, the ginger, soy sauce, cornstarch, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. pepper to the beef. Stir until the cornstarch is no longer visible. Add 1 tsp. of the oil and stir until the beef is lightly coated.

In a small bowl, stir the hot bean sauce, hoisin sauce, and the remaining 2 Tbs. wine.Set aside.
 Heat a large wok or frying pan over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Add 1 Tbs. of the remaining oil, swirl to coat, add the garlic, and stir-fry with a metal wok spatula until fragrant and light golden, about 10 seconds. Remove the garlic and carefully add the beef, spreading it evenly over the bottom and sides of the wok in a single layer. Cook, undisturbed, for 1 minute, letting the beef begin to sear. Turn beef over and continue cooking. Remove to a plate. Cook beef in small batches.

Add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil to the wok or pan and swirl to coat. Add the snow peas, bell pepper, and scallions and bok choy, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt, and stir-fry until the snow peas are bright green, about 1 minute. Return the beef and garlic with any accumulated juice to the wok. Add the hot bean sauce mixture by swirling it down and around the sides of the wok; if you pour the sauce directly into the center of the pan, the temperature of the wok will drop. Stir-fry until the beef is just cooked through and the vegetables are crisp-tender, 30 seconds to 1 minute more. Serve immediately.

Serve with rice.


In a dish combine 1 Tablespoon of the wine. Add ginger, soya sauce, cornstarch and salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Add  one teaspoon of oil. 

Slice meat. I used a combination of flank and beef tenderloin.

On the left is the hot bean sauce I used. If you cannot find it the sauce on the right will do fine. I actually used a combination of both. 

Combine sauce ingredients and set aside.

Trim snow peas.

Slice green onions.

Slice bok choy.

Slice peppers into strips.

Heat a wok over medium heat. Add 1 Tablespoon of oil. Add garlic. Cook until just fragrant but not brown. Remove garlic from pan.

Add a little more oil to the pan. Turn heat up to medium high. Cook beef in batches. Remove to a plate.

Add a little more oil to the pan. Add all the vegetables. Cook for a few minutes. Stirring often.

Add beef and garlic to the vegetables.

Combine well and continue cooking and stirring for a minute or two.

Add chili bean sauce. 

Stir to combine. Remove from heat.

Serve with rice.

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