Stir Fried Beef with Chinese Okra (勝瓜炒牛肉, Sing3 Gwaa1 Caau2 Ngau4 Juk6)

 

This recipe was updated on 18 July 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Chinese okra is an odd looking vegetable and is nothing like normal okra; it’s much larger and doesn’t have the thickening ability of okra (i.e. no sticky goop). It also has hard skin and inedible spines that must be removed before eating. When my brother-in-law first cooked this vegetable, he unfortunately didn’t know this (and I guess my sister forgot to tell him) and they ended up picking out hard skin and spine pieces from the finished dish. So don’t forget to remove the outer skin and spines when using this vegetable. You can combine Chinese okra with any ingredients, in this case its beef and red peppers (from my garden) in a simple brown bean sauce.

 

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)
1	1	Chinese okra (勝瓜, sing3 gwaa1), skin and spines removed, quartered, and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
3	3	Red chili peppers (紅番椒, hung4 faan1 ziu1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces on the diagonal; optional and to taste
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

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Lian How brand bean sauce (豆瓣醬, dau6 faan6 zoeng3) or equivalent
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)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
2 tsp.	10 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
4 tsp.	20 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
		Vegetable peeler
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan





Chinese Okra Unpeeled and Peeled

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.

   

   Chinese Okra Quartered and Cut Into Pieces

3. Wash the Chinese okra, and using a vegetable peeler, remove the spines and skin. Cut the Chinese okra into quarters and then each quarter into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
4. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
5. Remove any stems from the red chili peppers, cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces on the diagonal, and place into the bowl with the crushed ginger and garlic. The amount of red chili peppers to use in this dish depends upon personal taste and is optional, so feel free to reduce or increase the amount.
6. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces on the diagonal.

   

   Lian How Brand Bean Sauce
   (豆瓣醬, dau⁶ faan⁶ zoeng³)

7. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Lian How brand bean sauce or equivalent, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. 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 Chinese okra. Stir fry the Chinese okra 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 and the contents of the bowl with the beef back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together.
3. 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.