Spicy Tomato Beef Curry (咖哩粉番茄牛肉, Gaa3 Lei1 Fan2 Faan1 Ke4 Ngau4 Juk6)

 

This recipe was updated on 31 Aug 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Tomato Beef Curry is a classic Chinese-American dish that you can get at any Cantonese restaurant. The dish is a mixture of beef, tomatoes, and other vegetables in a sweet and sour curry sauce (not that thick red gloppy stuff). Depending upon on your preference, the dish can be sourer than sweet or sweeter than sour. Madras curry or garam masala powder is the typical ingredient for the curry part of the dish (and turmeric if you want the dish to be yellow colored). I also used tomatoes and Jalapeño peppers from my garden. The peppers make this dish spicy and can be omitted if desired. You can think of this dish as a version of the Tomato Beef Chow Mein (番茄牛肉炒麵, Faan¹ Ke⁴ Ngau⁴ Juk⁶ Caau² Min⁶) recipe without the noodles.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Beef flank or flap meat (牛肉, ngau4 juk6), cut into thin 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
4-6	4-6	Large tomatoes (番茄, faan1 ke4), cut into wedges
1-2	1-2	Green Jalapeño chili peppers (辣椒, laat6 ziu1), cut into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces; optional and to taste
8 oz.	227 g.	One 15 oz. (425 g.) can whole baby corn (玉米尖, juk6 mai5 zim1), drained
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

4-6 Tbs.	60-90 ml.	Rice vinegar (米醋, mai5 cou3)
2-4 Tbs.	30-60 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Sun brand Madras Curry Powder (咖哩粉, gaa3 lei1 fan2) or equivalent,  garam masala powder (胡荽, wu4 seoi1)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Turmeric (黃薑, wong4 goeng1), optional
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Worcestershire sauce (黃薑, kip1 zap1)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Prepare the beef flank or flap meat by removing any silver skin or fat, and cut the meat into thin 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. Cutting the beef against the grain makes it easier to eat (if cut with the grain, the beef would be stringy and difficult to eat). Wet with water and add the baking soda to the beef, allow to tenderize for 15 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
2. Marinate the beef in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the beef overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Wash the tomatoes and cut into wedges. In my case, the tomatoes from my garden were the size of large cherry tomatoes, so I just cut them in half.
4. Wash and cut the Jalapeño peppers into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces.
5. Open and drain the liquid from the baby corn and straw mushroom cans.
6. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
7. Wash and cut the green onions into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal.

Sauce Preparation Instructions

 

The balance of sourness to sweetness is controlled by the amount of rice vinegar and hoisin sauce used in the sauce, and that balance depends upon personal preference. I use hoisin sauce rather than sugar because it adds to the sauce’s thickness and you want the sauce to be somewhat thick (which is also achieved using the corn starch slurry). I would taste the sauce to gauge the balance. The sauce should taste concentrated and stronger than you prefer since it will be diluted once you add it to the other ingredients.

Sun Brand Madras Curry Powder
(咖哩粉, gaa3 lei1 fan2)

The amount of Madras curry powder is also a personal preference, so you’ll have to determine how much to add. I use Sun brand Madras Curry Powder, and used to be able to buy this brand at my local Asian markets, but now has become nearly impossible to find. The brand can still be bought online. If you really want a yellow color to the dish, add the turmeric.

1. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: Start by adding 4 Tbs. (60 ml.) rice vinegar and 2 Tbs. (30 ml.) hoisin sauce to the bowl and taste the mixture. If the mixture is too sour, add more hoisin sauce. If the mixture is too sweet, add more rice vinegar. The mixture should taste stronger than you would like the final sauce, since the other ingredients will dilute the taste.
2. Add the Sun brand Madras Curry (or equivalent) or garam masala powder, turmeric (optional), Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil to the bowl. Worchester sauce is not a normal ingredient in Chinese dishes, but I’ve found that this makes a great taste combination together with Madras curry powder.
3. In another small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil and then the beef. Stir fry the beef until brown by forming one layer of beef in the wok and leaving the beef alone for a while before flipping it over to brown the other side. You may have to stir fry the beef in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the browned beef to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the straw mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then transfer them to the bowl with the beef.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Jalapeño peppers. Stir fry the peppers to brown them before adding in the baby corn. Stir fry the baby corn to brown them. Add the bowl with the ginger and garlic mixture, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic mixture becomes fragrant. Add the green onions, tomatoes, and the contents of the bowl with the beef back into the wok, and gently stir fry all the ingredients together. The tomatoes are added at the end to preserve their shape. You want to see chunks or wedges of tomatoes in the finished dish.
4. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some liquid (stock or water) to the wok. Add the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve with steamed rice.