Stir Fried Beef with Winter Melon (冬瓜炒牛肉, Dung1 Gwaa1 Caau2 Ngau4 Juk6)

 

This recipe was updated on 21 Aug 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Chinese winter melon is not a melon but a gourd with what looks like a white powder covering the outer surface. It’s usually available, eaten, and stored over the Fall and Winter months. It is typically used in soups, the classic being a soup with winter melon and dried oysters either with or without the winter melon’s outer skin. For this dish, the winter melon is stir fried with beef after the outer skin is removed and the flesh diced into large cubes. The trick is to quickly stir fry the winter melon so that it doesn’t become mushy.

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)
2 lb.	1 kg.	Winter melon (冬瓜, dung1 gwaa1), outer skin removed and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) cubes
8 oz.	227 g.	One package marinated (five spice) bean curd (五香豆腐, jau4 zaa3 ng5 hoeng1 dau6 fu6), halved and then cut into 4 pieces
3	3	Shallots (蔥頭, cung1 tau4), halved and then cut into thin pieces
4-6	4-6	Thai red chili peppers (小米椒, siu2 mai5 ziu1), 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.	Kim Ve Wong brand thick soy sauce (膏油醬, gou1 jau4 zeong3) or equivalent, or dark sauce (老抽, lou5 cau1)
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

 

Winter Melon

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.

   

   Cleaned Winter Melon

   
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. Remove the seeds and the outer skin from the winter melon. I use my hands to remove the seeds and a Chinese cleaver to remove the outer skin (some of the flesh near the skin

   

   Cut Winter Melon, Bean Curd, and Shallots

   will also be removed and is unavoidable). A 2 lb. (1 kg.) piece of winter melon after being cleaned will yield approximately 1 lb. (500 g.) of flesh. Dice the flesh into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) cubes.
4. Open the marinated (five spice) bean curd package and discard any liquid. Halve each bean curd square and then quarter each half (yielding 8 pieces per marinated bean curd square).
5. Remove the tough outer skin of the shallots, cut each shallot in half, and slice finely.
6. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
7. Wash and remove any stems from the Thai red chili peppers. 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.
8. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Kim Ve Wong brand thick soy sauce (or equivalent) or dark soy sauce, 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 bean curd. Stir fry the bean curd and then transfer them to the bowl with the beef.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Thai red chili peppers and shallots. Stir fry the chili peppers and shallots to brown them before adding the winter melon. Quickly stir fry the winter melon before adding 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 contents of the bowl with the beef back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together.
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.