Diced Stir-Fried Beef

Sui Chao Niu Rou (碎炒牛肉)

Tender bits of top sirloin are quickly stir-fried with an abundance of flavorful aromatics like garlic, young ginger, and cilantro alongside sweet bell pepper and spicy pickled chilies.

Diced Stir-Fried Beef is actually a Lightly Stir-Fried Beef Dish, meaning the meat is stir-fried for only a short amount of time. This is often achieved by first par-frying the Beef in plenty of Oil and then stir-frying it quickly with flavorful Aromatics. Lightly Stir-Frying can also be accomplished by quickly stir-frying the Beef and Aromatics together in one step. However, this requires a high-powered wok burner to blast intense flames against the bottom of a seasoned wok. The two-step frying process achieves the same texture and flavor with greater ease.

The ‘Diced’ in the name of this dish actually doesn’t refer necessarily to the Beef but to everything that’s stir-fried with it. The name implies that all of the Aromatics and Peppers are cut into small cubes and stir-fried with the Beef. Naturally, the Beef is also sliced into small bits to accompany the ‘Dice.’ As for the Beef, the best cut to use is undoubtedly Top Sirloin with decent marbling and no connective tissue. Beef Tenderloin is a common, slightly cheaper alternative that is commonly used in restaurants. Either cut will result in tender morsels of Beef perfectly velveted by this expert marinade.

The Aromatics used in this dish are common to Zigong cuisine in Sichuan. Garlic, Pickled Red Chilies, Young Ginger, and Cilantro – all are staples of the Fresh-Fragrant-Spicy (鲜香辣) flavor profile. You can use Small Scallion (小葱) instead of Cilantro, but the combination of Cilantro and Beef is unbeatable. Young Ginger (仔姜) is not quite the same as regular ginger and may be a little difficult to find as it’s commonly a seasonal item even in China. Young Ginger is simply regular ginger that’s been harvested early; its flavor is a bit milder and, in my opinion, a touch sweeter than regular ginger. If unable to find Young Ginger, you can substitute it with a smaller amount of regular ginger though flavor will be slightly different.

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 5 min

Total Time: 20 min

Serving: 2 people

Ingredients

300 – 400 grams of Beef (Top Sirloin 牛外脊)

Marinade
1 Tbsp. Oyster Sauce
1 tsp. Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. of thick Corn Starch Slurry
3 Tbsp. Peanut Oil

Aromatics
1 Red Bell Pepper or Sweet Red Pepper
1/2 head of Garlic (at least 6 cloves)
6 – 10 Pickled Red Chilies

1 6-inch block of Young Ginger (仔姜)

1 bunch of Cilantro (Including Root)

Peanut Oil

Seasonings
1 tsp. Light Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Ground White Pepper

Directions

1.) Slice the Beef an 1/8-inch, cutting across the grain. Rotate the slices and cut down across the shortest end of the slices, creating short, thin slivers about the thickness of a matchstick. Place these slivers in a large bowl.

2.) Marinate the Beef:

• Add the first three Marinade ingredients (Oyster Sauce, Soy Sauce, and Salt) to the Beef, mixing everything by hand.
• Then, add the Corn Starch Slurry and mix again by hand until every piece is fully coated.
• Finally, add some Peanut Oil, which will prevent the meat from sticking together when stir-frying.
• Allow the Beef to marinate at least 15 minutes and up to half an hour while preparing the other ingredients.

3.) Prepare the Aromatics placing them together in the same bowl:

• Red Bell Pepper: Cut the Red Bell Pepper in half and remove the core and seeds. Slice the Red Pepper into long, thin 1/2-inch strips, rotate the strips, and dice them into 1/2-inch cubes.
• Garlic: Peel, smash, and dice the Garlic.
• Pickled Red Chilies: Slice the Pickled Red Chilies into 1/2-inch pieces.

4.) Slice the Young Ginger into 1/2-inch-thick slices, cut the slices into thin 1/2-inch-thick strips, rotate the strips, and chop them into 1/2-inch cubes. Place the Young Ginger in its own bowl.

5.) Chop the Cilantro into 1-inch-long pieces and set the pieces aside in their own bowl.

6.) Add about 1 cup of Peanut Oil to a seasoned wok and heat it on medium-high until hot. Carefully, add the Beef to the hot oil and allow it to sit for about 10 to 15 seconds before stirring. Gently fry the Beef another 10 seconds or until cooked just enough that the pieces are evenly browned and no longer stick together. Remove the Beef and Oil from the wok, discarding the used Oil, and quickly clean out the wok.

(This process is for a modern stovetop or induction top. If using a high heat wok burner, there is no need to add as much Oil or to remove the Beef from the wok. Instead, you can simply add about 1/4 cup of Oil, cook the Beef, and immediately add the Aromatics. With a modern stovetop, the water in the Beef will not evaporate fast enough if added to a wok with low oil. The Oil will become soupy and the Beef will lose its good texture. So, it’s best to flash fry the Beef in plenty of hot Oil, clean out the wok, and then begin the stir-frying process as in the next step).

7.) Add about 1/4 cup of Peanut Oil to the wok, heat it on medium-high, and then toss in the Beef and Aromatics. Cook them for about 30 seconds or until much of the water has evaporated and the flavor has concentrated into the meat.

8.) Pull the wok away from heat and quickly add the Seasonings (Soy Sauce, Salt, and White Pepper). Return the wok to heat, stir-fry everything just few seconds until the Seasonings are fully combined.

9.) Add the Young Ginger, and stir-fry everything for about 10 to 15 seconds. Then, add the Cilantro and toss it quickly with the Beef, before plating the delicious Lightly Stir-Fried Beef and serving it with individual bowls of white rice.

 

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