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Hunan Beef With Cumin

Course Main Course
Cuisine China, North America
Keyword Beef
Servings 3

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine* or good medium-dry sherry
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp soy sauce light
  • 1 tsp soy sauce dark
  • 1 tbsp potato starch or flour
  • 400 gr boneless short rib or other beef steak
  • 35 cl peanut oil
  • 2 tsp ginger minced
  • 1 tbsp garlic finely chopped
  • 2 chilies tien tsin or Thai red chiles, fresh, seeded and finely chopped
  • 2 to 4 tsp chili flakes dried
  • 2 tsp cumin ground
  • Salt
  • 2 scallions green parts only, finely sliced
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

Instructions

  1. In a bowl, mix the wine, salt, soy sauces, potato starch or flour and one tablespoon water.
  2. Cut the beef across the grain into thin slices and add it to the marinade.
  3. In a wok, heat the peanut oil to about 140°. Add the beef and stir gently for two to three minutes, then remove it from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain it well.
  4. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of oil in the wok. Over a high flame, add the ginger, garlic, fresh chilies, chili flakes and cumin and stir-fry briefly, until they are fragrant. Return the beef to the wok and stir well, seasoning with salt to taste.
  5. When the beef is sizzling and fragrant, add the scallion greens and toss briefly. Remove from the heat and stir in sesame oil.

Recipe Notes

* Shaoxing wine is one of the most famous varieties of huangjiu, or traditional Chinese wines, fermented from rice. It originates from the region of Shaoxing, in the Zhejiang province of eastern China.
Shaoxing rice wine doesn't smell much like alcohol. Some think it has a very particular taste: vinegary, spicy and caramel-like. Playing an important role in Chinese cuisine, Shaoxing rice wine is commonly used for everyday cooking.

Recipe by https://cooking.nytimes.com/Anne Mendelson
Featured in: Book Review; Eat Drink Make Revolution: The Cuisine Of Hunan Province.
Photography by https://appetiteforchina.com/