Sichuan Pepper Beef
Sichuan's pepper beef: thin strips of beef stir-fried hot with whole Sichuan peppercorns, dried chillies, garlic, ginger and spring onion.
Overview
This fast, easy, and delicious supper showcases how Chinese five-spice powder flavours an entire dish via a marinade approach. Overnight marination develops deep, complex flavours that distinguish this simple stir-fry from quickly-thrown-together meals. The combination of Sichuan pepper's numbing quality with five-spice complexity creates an unforgettable sauce.
Serves: 2 Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 1 minute
Ingredients
Beef & Marinade
- 2 Sirloin steaks (cut into strips)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoshing rice wine
- 2 teaspoons ground Sichuan pepper
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
Cooking
- 2 tablespoon groundnut oil
Vegetables & Sauce
- 1 red chilli (medium, deseeded and chopped)
- ½ onion (chopped)
- 1 small handful broccoli
- 1 small handful chopped mangetout
- 1 small handful chopped carrots
- 1 small handful chopped babycorn
- 300 ml hot fresh beef stock
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornflour (blended with 2 tablespoon cold water)
- 1 spring onion (finely sliced)
- salt
- pepper
Method
Stage 1 - Marinate
- Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl.
- Add the beef and marinate for as long as possible (overnight is best).
Stage 2 - Stir-Fry Beef
- Heat a wok over high heat and add the oil.
- Stir-fry the marinated beef for 2 minutes.
Stage 3 - Add Vegetables
- Add the red chilli and onion and stir-fry for less than 1 minute.
- Add the remaining vegetables and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Stage 4 - Build Sauce
- Add the hot stock and mix well.
- Season with light soy sauce.
- Bring to the boil.
- Add the blended cornflour and stir well.
- Add the spring onion, season to taste and serve with Jasmine rice.
Notes
- Overnight marination: Essential for deep flavour development. The longer the better.
- Five-spice powder: The key to this recipe, it flavours the entire sauce through the marinade.
- Sichuan pepper: Provides the signature numbing sensation that distinguishes Sichuan cooking.
Serving
Serve with: Jasmine rice
Storage
- Keeps 2-3 days refrigerated
- Freezes well up to 2-3 months
- Flavour improves after 24 hours
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