Sweet and Sour Crispy Beef
A Cantonese dish of marinated, deep-fried beef pieces stir-fried with bamboo shoot chunks, chili, and other ingredients in a sweet and sour sauce.
Ingredients
beef
300 g
cooked fresh bamboo shoots (cut into diamond-shaped pieces)
150 g
beaten egg
30 g
chili pepper (cut into diamond-shaped pieces)
25 g
scallion segments
5 g
minced garlic
0.5 g
sesame oil
0.5 g
fine salt (partially used for marinating)
1.5 g
sweet and sour sauce (made with sugar, white vinegar, fine salt, and tomato juice)
to taste
Fenjiu wine (for marinating)
as needed
wet cornstarch (for marinating and thickening)
as needed
dry cornstarch (to coat the meat)
as needed
peanut oil (for frying and final drizzling)
as needed
Instructions
1
Step 1
Cut the beef into blocks and lightly score a cross-hatch pattern on the surface. Cut the bamboo shoots and chili peppers into diamond-shaped pieces. Toss the beef with fine salt and Fenjiu wine, marinate for about 15 minutes, then add the beaten egg and wet cornstarch and mix well. Finally, coat the meat evenly with dry cornstarch.
2
Step 2
Place a wok over medium heat, add oil, and bring it to 50% hot. Fry the beef into steak shape for about 3 minutes, then move the wok off the heat and let the beef soak-fry for about 2 minutes before lifting it out. Return the wok to the heat, reheat to 50% hot, add the previously fried beef together with the bamboo shoots, and fry for another 2 minutes until the meat is golden and cooked through. Drain through a strainer.
3
Step 3
Reserve a little oil in the pan and return it to the heat. Add the garlic and chili pepper and fry until fragrant. Add the scallions and sweet and sour sauce, bring to a gentle boil, then stir in the wet cornstarch slurry to thicken. Immediately add the beef and scallion pieces and toss together, shaping into balls, drizzle with sesame oil and peanut oil, and stir until evenly combined. Serve.
