← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 450 g beef flank steak, sliced across the grain into thin 3 mm slices
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp White pepper
• 1 egg white
• 1 tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
• 15 dried red chillies, halved, some seeds shaken out
• 1 tbsp whole Sichuan peppercorns
• 4 cloves Garlic, finely grated
• 1 Spring onion, thinly sliced
• 4 tbsp neutral oil, for the sizzle
• 200 g Bean sprouts
• 200 g napa cabbage (or celery or lettuce), cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 tbsp neutral oil
• 3 tbsp doubanjiang (Pixian chilli bean paste)
• 3 cloves Garlic, sliced
• 2 cm piece Ginger, sliced
• 2 Spring onion, cut into 3 cm lengths
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp light soy sauce

Method

1. Toss the beef with the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, salt, white pepper, egg white and cornflour until every slice is coated and slightly tacky. Leave it while you prepare everything else.
2. Toast the dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns in a dry wok over low heat for 3–4 min, stirring, until they smell toasty and the chillies darken a shade. Tip out, cool and chop roughly.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in the wok over high heat and stir-fry the bean sprouts and cabbage with a pinch of salt for 1–2 min, until just wilted. Spread them in a deep serving bowl.
4. Lower the heat to medium-low, add the rest of the 3 tbsp oil and fry the doubanjiang for about 1 minute, until the oil turns red. Add the sliced garlic, ginger and spring onion and stir for 30 seconds.
5. Add the Shaoxing wine, stock, sugar and soy sauce and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer.
6. Slide the beef in a few slices at a time and nudge them apart with chopsticks. Poach for 1–2 min, just until no longer pink, then pour the beef and broth over the vegetables.
7. Pile the grated garlic, chopped chilli-peppercorn mix and spring onion on top. Heat the 4 tbsp oil until shimmering and very hot, pour it over the toppings so they sizzle, and serve at once with rice.

Tips

• Doubanjiang is very salty, so taste the broth before adding any extra salt.
• Put the beef in the freezer for 20 minutes first and it slices thinly with no fuss.
• Open a window while toasting the chillies, and wash your hands well after chopping them, before touching your eyes.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Omnivore's Cookbook Taste of Asian Food