Stir-fried Beef with black bean and chilli
This comes from a new discovery: Every Grain of Rice by Fuschia Dunlop. We’ve been looking for a Chinese cookbook for some time and this comes up trumps. This beef dish tasted authentic and delicious.
Don’t be tempted to substitute the Laoganma black bean sauce with the more common black bean sauce, widely available in supermarkets, which is something completely different. Laoganma black bean sauce is a relish made from fermented black beans and dried chillies in oil. You can find it in any good Asian supermarket (where you will also find the Shaoxing wine and potato flour).
Stir-fried beef with black bean and chilli – serves 2
- 300g lean beef steak, cut into 1cm thick strips
- ¼ red pepper
- ¼ green pepper
- about 40g coriander
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 2½ tbsp Laoganma black bean sauce
- salt
- 1 tsp sesame oil
For the marinade:
- ½ tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
- 1½ tsp potato flour
Stir the marinade ingredients with 2 tsp water, add to the meat and set aside.
Cut the peppers into strips similar in size to the beef and coarsely chop the coriander.
Heat the oil in a seasoned wok over a high heat. When the pan is smoking hot, add the beef and stir-fry until the strips begin to separate out. Tip in the peppers and keep stir-frying until the beef is almost cooked.
Add the black bean sauce and stir, then add some salt to taste. When everything is hot and fragrant, stir in the coriander.
Take off the heat and add the sesame oil before serving with some plain white rice.
(Original recipe from Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, Bloomsbury, 2012.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 