At Lunch-in, our culinary focus celebrates the cultures and places from our diverse community. Every week, we offer menus representing the world’s best cuisine. We use fresh ingredients sourced from the area’s best suppliers. From herbs and spices, to fish, chicken, beef grains and vegetables, our ingredients make a notable difference in the hand-made culinary experience we offer. Each week, we post new recopies from our menus. We hope you are inspired and give them a try at home.
Authentic SZECHUAN BEEF
Szechuan Beef is one of China’s most enduring recipes. It is typically medium-spicy with the strong flavor and tongue-numbing effect of Szechuan Peppercorns. This recipe is particularly good for prepping ahead and quickly throwing it together for an evening Sir-Fry. We use Top Sirloin Beef because it is a moderately priced cut of Beef with excellent Beefy flavor and tenderness.
The recipe has 4 basic steps; Cut and Marinate the Beef. Prep Vegetables and Aromatics. Assemble the Stir-Fry Sauce. Sauté the Beef and Vegetables. We typically sauté instead of stir-fry because that is the equipment that we have. If you have a Wok by all means, use it. The difference is that a wok setup usually cooks at a much higher heat. Adjust your cooking accordingly.
Note: We never use Peanut Oil in our cooking as there are just too many people with nut allergies. We use Canola Oil for frying because of its neutral flavor and high smoke point. If you have no nut allergies, I recommend Peanut Oil as it has a complimentary flavor.
Ingredients:
Beef and Marinade
· 1 ½ lbs. of Top Sirloin Beef cut across the grain into approximately 4-inch-long slices that are about ¼ inch thick.
· 2 Tb of reduced sodium soy sauce.
· 1 Tb of Cornstarch.
· 1 Tb of Mirin or Japanese Rice Wine (not vinegar).
· 1 tsp if Asian Chili Sauce such as Sambal Oleek
· 1 tsp of Sesame Oil.
Szechuan Sauce
· 3 Tb Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce.
· 3 Tb Water.
· 2 Tb Light Brown Sugar.
· 1 Tb of Mirin or Japanese Rice Wine (not vinegar).
· 2 Tb Asian Chili Sauce such as Sambal Oleek.
· 1 tsp Sesame Oil.
· 1 tsp Cornstarch.
· 2 tsp ground Szechuan Peppercorns or Szechuan Powder.
· ½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes.
· ½ tsp Salt or to taste.
Vegetables and Aromatics
· 1 Red Bell Pepper cut into ¼ “slices.
· ½ a bunch of Green Onions cut thin on the diagonal.
· 1 Yellow or White onion Julienned into thin slices.
· 1 Tb Minced Ginger.
· 6 Garlic cloves minced.
· Vegetable Oil or Peanut Oil.
Cooking Directions:
Pour marinade ingredients into a freezer bag and add Beef. Massage the bag with the beef and let marinate for up to overnight. A couple of hours works well.
Wisk together the remaining ingredients for the stir-fry sauce and set aside.
Heat 2 Tb of oil in a wok or non-stick saute pan to a med-high temperature. Sear Beef in batches and quickly brown on two sides. Empty each batch of seared Beef onto a small sheet pan to take off the heat until the other ingredients cook.
Now add 1 Tb of oil to the now empty skillet. Heat over med-high heat until the pan is hot. Add Onions and Ginger and sauté for a couple of minutes stirring some. Add the Bell Peppers and sauté for another minute or two. You want these vegetables to be seared and flavorful on the outside while retaining some texture on the inside.
Return the Beef to the pan and toss to combine. Add your stir-fry sauce to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce for a couple of minutes until sauce thickens and Beef is just cooked through. Don’t overcook! Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly.
Serve over rice and garnish with slice Green Onions.
The Love:
· Add a ½ tsp of Chinese 5 Spice powder to your Sauce.
· Substitute Shaoxing Wine for the Rice Wine. Dry Sherry works well also.
· Add 1 Tb of Molasses for some deep sweetness.
· Ground Mustard Powder is always kick.
· Ground Garlic Powder and Ground Ginger Powder can add some depth of flavor.