The story behind the recipe
I learned this recipe for Sichuan Crispy Beef at a cooking course at Cook in Shanghai in 2018. This course is definitely recommended if you have the time while visiting Shanghai! In fact, part of my travel mindset is to Travel through food so the culinary highlights of a foreign destination are always of interest. Therefore, what better way to do this than learning to cook local cuisine? Also, there is an added advantage that you can recreate the dishes when you are back at home.
The cooking course began with a trip to the local market, where we shopped for the ingredients. It was great to have a local show us around. We bought meat, eggs, vegetables and other assorted ingredients. Luckily we had our guide to translate for us! When we returned to the kitchen, Chef Wong guided us with the translation help of our guide Eriksen.
At the course we cooked as a team and then enjoyed a delicious meal together. We made several different dishes, including the recipe for Sichuan crispy beef, which was my favourite for several reasons. First, the panko crunchiness with tender beef inside was a great texture combination. Second, the cumin added a delicious and unique flavour. Finally, the finishing touch is to add chilies and peppercorn or chili oil. As you can see from the photo of the original, the chef added lots of spicy chilies!
The Recipe
Ingredients
150 g beef
1/2 tsp chicken stock granules
1/2 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp cooking wine
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 egg
1/2 c breadcrumbs
300 g vegetable oil
1/2 tsp chili bean paste
dry chili
cumin powder
1 tsp sesame oil
Drizzle of sichuan peppercorn oil (or chili oil)
Instructions
First, slice the beef into thin pieces. Next, put the beef in a bowl, and add chicken stock, soy sauce, cooking wine and water. Stir together then add egg and corn starch. Lastly, let it rest for 30 minutes.
Heat oil to medium-high. Then mix the beef and coat with breadcrumbs. Next, add beef pieces and fry until golden brown. Then add chili and chili bean paste. Finally, mix continuously as you add the sesame oil, cumin powder and peppercorn oil. Remove from heat and serve hot, usually with steamed white rice.
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