Beef and Mushroom Stir-Fry in Black Pepper Sauce
Cantonese-style dish (黑椒牛肉炒杏鲍菇). Cantonese cuisine was influenced quite a bit by England, so it is very common to use Worcestershire sauce, which gives a powerful umami taste and a slight touch of sourness to this dish. The beef is coated with starch and pan-fried. You can enjoy some crunchy texture if you serve it fast enough, but the purpose of the breading here is to catch the flavorful sauce. I hope you'll agree this is a delicious and quick dinner recipe to add to your regular recipe rotation.
Ingredients
| 400 g | beef (rib eye, sirloin, flank steak, or chuck) | |
| 1/3 tsp | 1.7 ml | salt |
| 1 | egg | |
| 80 g | cornstarch | |
| 2 tsp | 10 ml | baking powder |
| 2 Tbsp | 30 ml | soy sauce |
| 2 Tbsp | 30 ml | honey |
| 1.5 Tbsp | 23 ml | oyster sauce |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | dark soy sauce |
| 1 Tbsp | 15 ml | Worcestershire sauce |
| 1 Tbsp | 15 ml | ground black pepper |
| 1 Tbsp | 15 ml | minced garlic |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | minced ginger |
| 4 Tbsp | 60 ml | oil to pan-fry the beef |
| 227 g | king oyster mushrooms | |
| 70 g | onion |
Instructions
For marinating and coating the beef: 400 g / 14 oz beef (rib eye, sirloin, flank steak, or chuck), 1.9 g / 1/3 tsp salt, 1 egg, 80 g / 2/3 cup cornstarch, 9.6 g / 2 tsps baking powder. For the sauce: 2 Tbsps soy sauce, 42 g / 2 Tbsps honey, 27 g / 1.5 Tbsps oyster sauce, 5.5 g / 1 tsp dark soy sauce, 16 g / 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 7.2 g / 1 Tbsp ground black pepper or to taste, 9 g / 1 Tbsp minced garlic, 3 g / 1 tsp minced ginger. For stir-frying and finishing: 4 Tbsps oil to pan-fry the beef, 227 g / 8 oz king oyster mushrooms, 70 g / about 1/4 of a large onion.
- Slice the beef across the muscle grains into 1/8-inch thick pieces.
- Place the beef into a mixing bowl and add the salt and the whole egg. Mix thoroughly and set it aside.
- Combine the baking powder with the cornstarch in a separate mixing bowl and stir well.
- Add the beef slices to the starch mixture and mix until the beef is coated evenly with the flour. If beef slices stick together, please take some time to separate them.
- Take the beef out and shake off the excess flour. Set the beef aside for 10 minutes so the starch has time to bond.
- While waiting, slice the mushroom into 1/3-inch thick pieces, cut the onion into bite-size pieces, and combine all the sauce ingredients (soy sauce, honey, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ground black pepper, minced garlic, and minced ginger) in a bowl.
- Heat a carbon steel frying pan over high heat until smoking hot. Add the cooking oil and swirl it around to cover the bottom of the pan. Pan-fry the beef slices in batches on high heat for one minute per side or until golden and crispy. You want to make sure you don't crowd the pan.
- Remove the beef to the side and continue to fry the next batch until all the beef is finished.
- Add the mushrooms to the same pan and sear over high heat for 1 minute per side or until the mushrooms are slightly golden on the edges.
- Add the onion and stir well.
- Pour in the sauce and introduce the beef back to the pan. Toss to make sure every piece of the meat is coated nicely with the sauce.
- Serve with white rice.