Chinese Style Steak

To the beefeaters

In Chinese cooking, beef is often treated with bicarbonate of soda as tenderiser. This, according to many food critics, is a bad practice and should be banned because it alters the texture of the meat. Strangely as it sounds, I actually quite like the texture of tenderised beef in Chinese cooking! Put it in another way, no one would love rough textured beef slices that are barely chewable, right? You may then ask, why don't you use wagu beef or angus beef then? it will be tender and juicy without needing any tenderiser. Well yes, but if I have a piece of wagu beef or angus beef, I would simply sear it on the sides, season with salt and pepper (perhaps a dash of brandy while frying) and eat. I would not have it the Chinese way and put it in a stir fry coz I feel this isn't well use of the excellent quality beef.

I was over the moon when I read the Rice with Silky Egg and Beef recipe in Annie Leong's book. She includes a secret method of marinating beef from a well known chef. Ever since, I have adapted this method for all my Chinese beef dishes...

Serves 3

Ingredients:

1. 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
2. 1/2 teaspoon sugar
3. 1 teaspoon shaoxing wine
4. 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
5. 120ml water
6. 1 egg
7. 2 teaspoons cornstarch
8. 2 tablespoons oil
9. 300g rib eye beef
10. 1 medium sized white onion
11. 2 tablespoons oil
12. 1 tablespoon Worcester Sauce
13. 3 tablespoons ketchup
14. 1 tablespoon white vinegar
15. 2 tablespons sugar
16. 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
17. 2 tablespoons water

Method:

• Slice the beef thinly. The beef will absorb the marinade better if the beef is frozen and then half-thawed.
• Place the beef into a bowl and add soy sauce, sugar, shaoxing wine and bicarb of soda (item 1-4). Use a pair of chopsticks to stir the beef briskly in one direction for 3 minutes. You can see the beef slices start sticking to each other.
• Add in the water (item 5), little by little, and continue to stir until the beef slices absorbs all the water.
• Add in the egg and stir again for 3 minutes.
• Add in the cornstarch (item 7) and stir. Then also add in the oil (item 8) to coat the beef slices.
• Cover the bowl in clingfilm and put it back to the fridge to marinate for at least 24 hours.
• When ready to cook, cut the onion (item 10) into big slices.
• Prepare the sauce in a small bowl by mixing Worcester sauce, ketchup, vinegar and sugar (items 12-15) together.
• Turn on high heat to heat the wok until it is smoking.
• Pour in the oil (item 11) and toss the onion until slightly golden in colour.
• Take out the onion.
• In the same wok, put in the beef slices and toss until the beef slices are 70% done. Take out the beef slices.
• Then put in the sauce and the onion back to the wok and toss for about 1 minute. Taste and adjust the sauce accordingly.
• Put the beef slices back to the wok and toss until the beef is fully cooked.
• If you feel that the sauce isn't thick enough, dissolve the cornstarch (item 16) with cold water (item 17) and put into the wok to thicken the sauce.