Sichuan Crispy Beef (5-Ingredient) – Omnivore’s Cookbook

Say good day to “dry” stir fry

Unlike the saucy Chinese meals you would possibly know, Sichuan dishes use tons of aromatics and chilies for taste. Think “dry” stir fry, the place the components get a crispy crust and take in all of the spices with little to no sauce. Sichuan dry fried green beans is a traditional instance.

This Sichuan crispy beef belongs to the identical class. In China we name it dried fried steak, or 干煸牛肉 (Gan Bian Niu Rou).

The phrase “Gan Bian”, or dry fry, refers to a Chinese cooking strategy of slowly cooking the components in minimal scorching oil to allow them to dehydrate barely, making a crispy chewy crust. Once dry fried, you’ll end up the meat with scallions and chili crisp.

Different from the silky texture you get from velveting, or crispy deep fried meat, dried fried beef has a singular chewy texture that resembles tender beef jerky.

Crispy beef components

• Beef flank steak: Other cuts of beef work too.
• Baking soda: Marinating the meat with baking soda will tenderize the meat, so the meat will keep juicy and tender throughout cooking.
• Cornstarch: Use cornstarch to create a skinny coating, for further crispy texture.
• Chili crisp: The important seasoning on this dish. See the word under on choosing a top quality chili crisp.
• Scallion: Scallion is used as an fragrant and a vegetable, so as to add umami, a candy style, and a young texture.

Select a top quality chili crisp

To create the very best tasting Sichuan crispy beef, get a jar of Lao Gan Ma (老干妈), typically translated as The Godmother. It’s one of the standard sauces in China, and I all the time hold a jar of it in my fridge. The model has quite a few kinds of flavors, however this recipe makes use of probably the most primary taste Chili Crisp Oil, or 香辣脆油辣椒. You can discover it in Chinese markets, some large Asian grocery shops, or on Amazon.

Another chili crisp I like is Mr Bing Chili Crisp. If you don’t just like the MSG in Lao Gan Ma, it is a nice different.

How to make Sichuan crispy beef

1. Marinate the meat for half-hour, then coat the cornstarch proper earlier than cooking. The marinating course of is essential. Not solely does it impart taste to the meat, the baking soda additionally retains the meat tender.

2. Pan fry the meat till crispy on the perimeters. Compared to my different stir fry recipesthis recipe requires an extended cooking time for the meat. The technique overcooks the surfaces to create the chewy crispy impact. But since we additionally use baking soda, the within of the meat will stay tender.

3. Once the meat is cooked, toss it with the chili crisp and scallion.

That’s it! It looks as if an very simple dish, however you’d be stunned how flavorful it’s and by the superb texture of the meat.

Crispy beef, cooked with little oil

To correctly dry fry the meat, use simply sufficient oil to thinly cowl the pan. You need to use sufficient oil so the cornstarch on the meat is absolutely coated with oil, however not a lot that there’s a number of oil pooling within the pan. The technique for this dish is to make use of the recent pan to slowly prepare dinner the meat to dehydrate the floor, creating the crispy chewy texture. If you utilize an excessive amount of oil, the recent pan will trigger a number of splatter throughout cooking.

How to serve Sichuan crispy beef

Serve Sichuan crispy beef with steamed rice as a important dish, and pair it with some greens similar to cucumber salad, BOK Choy Stir Fryor broccoli with garlic sauce. A easy egg drop soup or tomato egg drop soup is a good addition to the meal as effectively.

Other standard Sichuan dishes