Stir-Fried Beef and Pickled Chilies

Paojiao Niurou Si (泡椒牛肉丝)

A sour spicy explosion of salty-umami goodness from Sichuan pickled chilies engulfs strips of tender sirloin – the fragrant heat offset by cooling celery.

This is easily one of the best Sichuan Beef Dishes, because Stir-Fried Beef and Pickled Chilies has the quintessential Sichuan flavors. It’s spicy, tangy, fragrant, salty, and umami. The beef will be incredibly tender – its texture contrasting perfectly with the tender-crips crunch of Chinese Celery (山芹菜 – literally Mountain Celery).

I give a rather wide range for the amount of Celery in the following recipe, because the number of stalks in a bunch of Chinese Celery can vary greatly. I typically use about 3 bunches when making the dish, but it’s sometimes less. When the Celery stalks are cut into sticks, there should be a rather thick bundle, but one that should still fit within your hand. Regular Celery (西芹 – literally Western Celery) can easily be substituted for Chinese Celery as it has much the same flavor. However, I would recommend cutting it lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick strips and then cutting it into 4-inch-long sticks. Doing so will ensure a proper cooking time and good appearance for the Beef and Celery together.

Other than Celery, Long Green Chilies (二荆条) can be added for more of a homestyle version (家常菜). Also, the amount of sour-spicy flavor can be boosted with more Sichuan Pickles such as strips of Pickled White Radish (Daikon 泡萝卜) or Pickled Carrot. A few cloves of Pickled Garlic are more than welcome to this party. But, be aware, Sichuan Pickles are quite salty, so you may need to decrease the amount of Salt in the Marinade and the amount Soy Sauce and Oyster Sauce in the Sauce if greatly increasing the amount of Sichuan Pickles.

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 5 min

Total Time: 20 min

Serving: 2 people

Ingredients

350 – 400 grams of Beef (Top Sirloin 牛外脊)

Marinade
2 Tbsp. Water
1 Tbsp. Shaoxing Rice Wine
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Ground White Pepper
1 Tbsp. of Corn Starch
4 Tbsp. Peanut Oil

Aromatics
4 cloves of Garlic
2 white stalks of Small Scallion (小葱)
1 2-inch block of Ginger

Garnish
2 green stalks of Small Scallion (小葱) (AND/ OR 1 bunch of Cilantro)

Pickles
1 4-inch block of Pickled Young Ginger (泡仔姜)
10 Pickled Red Chilies

Vegetables
1 – 3 bunches of Chinese Celery

Sauce
2 tsp. Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Oyster Sauce
1 tsp. Chinkiang Black Vinegar
1 tsp. White Sugar
1 tsp. Red Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. MSG
1/2 tsp. Chicken Bouillon Powder

Peanut Oil

2 Tbsp. Sichuan Chili Bean Paste

Directions

1.) Wash off the Beef. Cut the Beef into 1/2-inch-thick slices and then cut the slices into long 1/2-inch-thick strips resembling the thickness of chopsticks. Place the strips of Beef into a large bowl.

(If the Beef slivers have a lot of blood still in them, it is recommended that you wash them. To do so, fill the bowl with water and gently massage the pieces under the water. Drain the bowl, fill with water once more, and repeat until the water runs nearly clear. Squeeze out as much water as possible from the Beef before adding the Marinade).

2.) Add the first four Marinade ingredients (Water, Rice Wine, Salt, and White Pepper) and mix them thoroughly into the Beef. Add the Corn Starch, mix thoroughly until every sliver is coated, and then add some Peanut Oil, which will prevent the Beef from sticking when stir-frying. Allow the Beef to rest for at least 15 minutes.

3.) Prepare the Aromatics, adding them to the same bowl:

• Peel, smash, and mince the Garlic.
• Finely slice the white stalks of the Small Scallion and set the green part aside.
• Peel, smash, and mince the Ginger.

4.) Finely slice the green stalks of Small Scallion and set them aside in a bowl to be used as a Garnish.

5.) Prepare the Pickles, setting them in the same bowl:

• Thinly slice the Pickled Ginger and then julienne the slices into thin slivers.
• Thinly slice the Pickled Red Chilies lengthwise creating long thin slivers.

6.) Wash the Celery, shake it dry, and then cut the stalks into 4-inch-long pieces. Set the Celery aside in its own bowl.

7.) Mix together all of the Sauce ingredients (Soy Sauce, Oyster Sauce, Vinegar, Sugar, Chili Powder, MSG, and Chicken Bouillon Powder) in a small bowl.

8.) Heat a seasoned wok on medium-high heat and add 1/2 cup of Peanut Oil. When hot, add the Beef and stir-fry quickly to separate the pieces. Cook just until the color of every piece has changed to a light brown. Then remove the Beef from the wok and discard the used Oil.

9.) Preferably without cleaning out the wok, add another 1/4 cup of fresh Peanut Oil and heat on medium-high. Add the Aromatics and stir-fry them just a few seconds until fragrant. Quickly, add the Pickles and stir-fry these just until most of their liquid has evaporated – which should only take around 30 seconds.

10.) Push the Pickles and Aromatics over to the side and add the Sichuan Chili Bean Paste to the empty part of the wok. Stir-fry in the Oil, using a circular motion and gradually increasing the radius, until all of the other ingredients have been incorporated.

11.) Return the Beef to the wok along with the Celery and all of the Sauce. Stir-fry the Beef and Celery quickly with the other ingredients to mix them thoroughly.

(The Beef and Celery should not take long to cook, so watch them carefully).

12.) Add the finely sliced green stalks of Small Scallion, cut off the heat, and mix them in quickly, using the residual heat to release the onion flavor. Plate the Stir-Fried Beef and Pickled Chilies and serve immediately with individual bowls of rice.

 

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