Grilled Spicy Beef Hearts (燒烤辣牛心, Siu1 Haau1 Laat6 Ngau4 Sam1)

This recipe was updated on 30 Jun 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Here’s another dish using beef hearts, this time grilled in a spicy chili sauce. I bought the beef hearts already sliced at my local Asian market and they slice the beef hearts thicker than my neighborhood supermarket. The beef hearts are also always available at the Asian market, unlike the supermarket. I didn’t (and couldn’t) eat all the grilled beef hearts, so the leftovers were used for another dish.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1½ lb.	750 g.	Beef hearts (牛心, ngau4 sam1), cut into ¾-inch (20 mm.) wide 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
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Sichuan Gao Fu Ji Food brand chili sauce (鮮辣椒, sin1 laat6 ziu1) or any other fresh chili sauce
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)

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
		Tongs and an oil coated paper towel
22.5 in.	57 cm.	Covered charcoal or gas grill (or larger)

 

Sichuan Gao Fu Ji Food Brand Chili Sauce
(鮮辣椒, sin1 laat6 ziu1)

Instructions

1. If purchased whole, the beef heart needs to be cut into long ¾-inch (20 mm.) wide slices. Prepare the beef heart slices by removing any fat, silver skin, and veins.
2. Marinate the beef heart for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, Sichuan Gao Fu Ji Food brand chili sauce or any other fresh chili sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the beef heart overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Prepare the charcoal or gas grill for direct cooking following the manufacturer’s instructions. Light the charcoal or preheat the gas grill accordingly. Soak the wood for smoking (pecan, oak, or any other wood can be used) for one hour if desired. I use dry and not soaked wood.
4. If using a charcoal grill, arrange the lighted coals on one half of the grill. The side of the grill with the coals (the “hot” side) will be used to grill the beef and the side without the coals (the “cool” side) will be used for smoking the beef. For a gas grill, follow the manufacturer’s instructions as to which burners to leave on for direct cooking. Clean the grill grate and then, using tongs and a paper towel coated with oil, lubricate the grate to prevent the beef from sticking. Put the smoking wood onto the coals or as per the instructions for the gas grill.
5. Place the beef on the hot side of the uncovered grill for 2-3 minutes until browned. Turn the beef over to brown the other side for 2-3 minutes. Move the beef to the cool side of the grill when browning is complete.
6. Cover the grill and allow to smoke for 3 minutes. Remove the beef from the grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Be careful not to overcook the beef. The temperature of your fire and previous experience with your grill will determine the total cooking time for the beef.