Sichuan Ganbian Beef Stir-Fry
Sichuan dish (干煸牛肉). Ganbian (干煸) is a cooking technique translated as dry stir-fry; it means stir-frying the ingredients over medium heat until nicely charred to concentrate the flavor. To prevent the meat from getting chewy, a bit of baking soda in the marinade is a necessity. This beef is so delicious - it tastes like a tender piece of jerky, spicy and numbing, with a bit of nuttiness. You can serve it as a side dish or an appetizer. We like to eat it as the perfect snack to accompany beer. Ingredient Tip: Chinese celery (中国芹菜), aka leafy celery, is a variety of celery cultivated in East Asian countries. It smells ten times stronger compared to Western celery. It is a bit hard to find outside of China, so it is okay to use Western celery.
Ingredients
| 454 g | beef (sirloin, flank, or beef chuck) | |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 ml | salt |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | sugar |
| 1/3 tsp | 1.7 ml | baking soda |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 ml | five-spice powder |
| 1 Tbsp | 15 ml | soy sauce |
| 1/2 Tbsp | 7.5 ml | dark soy sauce |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | grated ginger |
| 1 clove | garlic, grated | |
| 3 Tbsp | 45 ml | oil |
| 1 Tbsp | 15 ml | Sichuan dou ban jiang (spicy broad bean paste) |
| 2 Tbsp | 30 ml | julienned ginger |
| 4 cloves | garlic, sliced thinly | |
| 5 g | dried red chilies, cut open and seeded | |
| 200 g | Chinese celery | |
| 2.5 Tbsp | 38 ml | Chinese cooking wine |
| 30 g | scallions, cut into 2-inch stalks | |
| 1 Tbsp | 15 ml | toasted sesame seeds |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Sichuan peppercorn powder |
Instructions
For marinating the beef: 454 g / 1 pound beef (sirloin, flank, or beef chuck), 2.9 g / 1/2 tsp salt, 4.2 g / 1 tsp sugar, 1.6 g / 1/3 tsp baking soda, 1 g / 1/2 tsp five-spice powder, 16.6 g / 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 8.3 g / 1/2 Tbsp dark soy sauce, 3 g / 1 tsp grated ginger, 3 g / about 1 clove garlic, grated. For stir-frying and finishing: 3 Tbsps oil, 16 g / 1 Tbsp Sichuan dou ban jiang, 18 g / 2 Tbsps julienned ginger, 12 g / about 4 cloves garlic (sliced thinly), 5 g / about 10 dried red chilies (cut open and seeded), 200 g / 7 oz Chinese celery, 35 g / 2.5 Tbsps Chinese cooking wine, 30 g / about 2 scallions (cut into 2-inch-long stalks), 9 g / 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds, 1.5 g / 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder or to taste.
- Cut the beef into 1/8-inch thick slabs, then julienne the slabs into 1/8-inch thick strips.
- Place the beef in a large mixing bowl and add the salt, five-spice powder, sugar, baking soda, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. Mix thoroughly and set the beef aside for 15 minutes.
- If using Chinese celery, cut it into 2.5-inch long sticks; if using Western celery, cut the stalks into 2.5-inch long pieces and then julienne them into thin sticks.
- Heat your wok over high heat until smoking hot. Then add 3 tablespoons of oil and swirl it around to cover the bottom.
- Add the beef strips to the wok and spread them out so none of them overlap. Sear the beef for 20 seconds and then stir the beef over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the beef is nicely charred.
- Push the beef to the side of the wok. Add the Sichuan dou ban jiang and stir over low heat until the oil becomes bright red.
- Add the ginger strips, garlic slices, seeded dried red chilies, and celery stalks. Stir for a couple of minutes.
- Add the Chinese cooking wine from the side of the wok and stir to deglaze the bottom.
- Add the scallion stalks, toasted sesame seeds, and Sichuan peppercorn powder. Stir thoroughly and serve with white rice.