Beef and Black Bean Sauce - Recipe by Melanie Persson
Ingredients
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2–3 dried Szechuan chillies (optional)
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 red (bell) pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and sliced
2-3 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves
1/2 broccoli, cut into florets
2-3 spring onions (scallions), chopped into 5 cm pieces
For the beef:
300 g beef rump steak
1/2 tsp caster (superfine) sugar
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 tsp gluten-free soy sauce
1 tsp gluten-free Shaoxing or other rice wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 Tbs gluten-free cornflour (cornstarch)
For the sauce:
4 Tbs fermented black beans
50mL gluten-free Shaoxing rice wine (or other rice wine)
1 Tbs gluten-free oyster sauce
1 1/2 Tbs gluten-free hoisin sauce
1/2 Tbs sesame oil
100mL cold water
Method
Start by preparing the beef. Trim off any excess fat or gristle, then slice against the grain into thin slices. Place in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, then use your hands to massage the marinade into the meat, making sure each piece is well-coated. Cover the bowl with cling film (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
Prepare the sauce. Place the fermented black beans in a fine mesh sieve and rinse well under cold running water. Transfer them to a small bowl and add the Shaoxing rice wine, then use a fork to roughly mash about half of them. Set aside to soak for 10-15 minutes. Place the rest of the sauce ingredients into another bowl and mix well to combine, then set aside.
Place a large wok or frying pan (skillet) over high heat. Add the vegetable oil and swirl it around the pan. When the oil is hot, add the beef, spreading it in a single layer around the base of the wok. Allow it to sear well before starting to toss to cook on all sides. When the beef is 70–80% cooked (some undercooked spots are fine as the beef will be cooked again at the end), transfer the beef to a bowl, leaving any excess oil in the wok.
If using, add the dried chillies to the pan and allow them to get darker in colour for about 1 minute, then add the onion, red pepper and carrot and cook for another 1 minute, stirring and tossing regularly. Add the garlic, ginger and broccoli and toss to combine.
Add the black bean/Shaoxing mixture and toss well to coat all the vegetables. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring and tossing regularly, until the vegetables are slightly tender (they should still have a bite to them). Now add the beef back to the pan along with the remaining sauce ingredients. Toss well to combine and cook for another minute before adding the spring onions.
Once the spring onions have wilted and the vegetables are cooked through (still a little crunchy), transfer the stir-fry to a large dish and serve immediately.
