Beef in Tomato Sauce
A Shanghainese-style sweet-and-sour beef dish featuring tender beef in a rich tomato sauce.
Ingredients
Tender beef (sliced thin across the grain)
300 g
Tomato sauce
50 g
Shaoxing wine
20 g
Cornstarch slurry (for marinating and thickening)
20 g
Soy sauce
20 g
Scallion and ginger slices
20 g
Sugar
10 g
Baking soda (for tenderizing the beef)
5 g
White pepper
1 g
Minced ginger
2 g
Peanut oil (for frying)
500 g
Shaoxing wine
a pinch
MSG
a pinch
Salt (for seasoning the sauce)
to taste
Sesame oil (drizzled for aroma)
to taste
Water (for marinating)
100 g
Broth (for the sauce)
a pinch
Instructions
1
Marinate the beef
Place the sliced beef in a bowl and add the baking soda, soy sauce, white pepper, cornstarch slurry, Shaoxing wine, peanut oil, minced ginger, and 100 g of water. Mix well and marinate for 1 hour.
2
Fry the beef
Heat a wok over high heat with oil until it reaches about 60% hot (roughly 180°C / 350°F). Add the marinated beef slices and stir-fry until just cooked through, then pour into a colander to drain off the oil.
3
Make the sauce
In a clean wok with a small amount of oil, stir-fry the tomato sauce with salt, Shaoxing wine, sugar, MSG, and a splash of broth. Thicken with cornstarch slurry, drizzle with sesame oil, and serve immediately over the fried beef.
