Stir Fried Beef with Long Beans (豆角炒牛肉, Dau6 Gok3 Caau2 Ngau4 Juk6)

 

This recipe was updated on 01 Jul 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Long Beans is a favorite vegetable of mine. It goes well with pork spareribs and for this recipe, beef. Long beans differ from regular green beans in the most obvious way; they are really long in length. If you can’t find long beans at your favorite market, you can easily substitute regular green beans.

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 lb.	500 g.	Long beans (豆角, dau6 gok3), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
8	8	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
8 oz.	225 g.	One 15 oz. (425 g.) can baby corn (玉米尖, juk6 mai5 zim1), drained
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
3	3	Fresh red chili peppers (紅番椒, hung4 faan1 ziu1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces – to taste and optional
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Salted black beans (豆豉, dau6 si6), washed and lightly crushed
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
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
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Pour boiling water over the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid, remove the stems, and cut them into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
5. Wash and cut the long beans into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
6. Open and drain the can with the baby corn.
7. Wash and lightly crush the salted black beans, and place them into a small bowl. The base of the wooden handle of a Chinese cleaver is traditionally used to lightly crush the black beans, but you can use whatever tool is handy. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into the small bowl with the salted black beans. Mix the ingredients together.
8. Wash and cut the fresh red chili peppers into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces, and place into the bowl with the salted black beans. The amount of red chili peppers to use in this dish depends upon personal taste, so feel free to reduce or increase the amount.
9. Wash and cut the green onions into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
10. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the 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 Shiitake 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 baby corn. Stir fry the baby corn and then transfer them to the bowl with the beef.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the long beans. Stir fry the long beans to brown them. Add the bowl with the salted black beans, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic become 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.
5. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some of the mushroom rehydration liquid 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.