Cashew Asparagus Beef (腰果蘆筍牛肉, Jiu1 Gwo2 Lou4 Seon2 Ngau4 Juk6)

This recipe was updated on 17 May 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Asparagus is in season again. Asparagus beef in black bean garlic sauce is a classic Cantonese-American dish. Cashews are an extra addition that goes well with this dish. I was feeling a little lazy when I made this dish, so I used bottled black bean garlic sauce to make it. Lee Kum Kee makes a really good bottled sauce in my humble opinion, and I use it whenever I don’t make the black bean sauce myself. I used the Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid together with a corn starch slurry to increase the amount of 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 lb.	500 g.	Asparagus (蘆筍, lou4 seon2), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) lengths
10	10	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
20-25	20-25	Cashews (腰果, jiu1 gwo2)
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
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.	Lee Kum Kee brand black bean garlic sauce (蒜蓉豆豉醬, syun3 jung4 dau6 si6 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
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Lee Kum Kee Brand
Black Bean Garlic Sauce
(蒜蓉豆豉醬,
syun3 jung4 dau6 si6 zoeng3)

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 or overnight.
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 asparagus into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
6. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
7. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
8. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Lee Kum Kee brand black bean garlic 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.
9. Put the cashews into a small bowl.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat and before adding oil. Add the cashews, quickly browning them, and then removing the cashews to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil. Add the beef pieces to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the beef in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Set the beef aside in a bowl (different from the cashews).
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then remove them to the bowl with the beef.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the asparagus. Stir fry the asparagus to brown them. Add the bowl with the ginger and garlic, 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, top with cashews, and serve with steamed rice.