Chili Paste with Fermented Soy Bean Beef Tendon (湖南豆豉辣椒牛筋, Wu4 Naam4 Dau6 Si6 Laat6 Ziu1 Ngau4 Gan1)

This recipe was updated on 16 Oct 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Beef tendon is usually eaten in a stew with beef outside flank, which can be found in the Beef Flank and Tendon Stew (燜牛筋牛腩, Man¹ Ngau⁴ Gan¹ Ngau⁴ Naam⁵) recipe, but beef tendon can be the star of the dish all by itself. Beef tendon is tough and requires long slow cooking, at which time it becomes soft and gelatinous, so making this dish is a two-step process. The first step is to soften the beef tendon through slow cooking, and the second step is to stir fry the beef tendon with vegetables. I use a slow cooker in the first step since I can just cook the beef tendon unattended. The beef tendon itself is nearly tasteless, so the other ingredients give the dish its flavor, with the beef tendon supplying the texture to the dish.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb.	500 g.	Beef tendon (牛筋, ngau4 gan1)
2 slices	2 slices	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), lightly crushed
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), lightly crushed
1	1	Dried tangerine peel (陳皮, can4 pei4)
¾ oz.	20 g.	Rock sugar (冰糖, bing1 tong4) – 1 piece
½ cup	125 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
		Water or stock to cover the ingredients in the slow cooker
1 lb.	500 g.	Long beans (豆角, dau6 gok3), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) 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 lb.	500 g.	Chow mein noodles (炒麵, caau2 min6)
		Oil for cooking

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Fu Chi Foods brand chili paste with fermented soy bean (湖南豆豉辣椒, wu4 naam4 dau6 si6 laat6 ziu1) 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)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Water

 Equipment

		Chinese cleaver or other heavy knife
3.5 in.	9 cm.	Soak-out cooker to hold the spices in the slow cooker
6.5 qt.	6 L.	Slow cooker (crock pot) to cook the stew
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

Preparation Instructions (One Day Before)

1. Put the spices into the soak-out cooker: lightly crushed garlic and ginger, tangerine peel, and rock sugar. Place the soak-out cooker into the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Wash and remove any excess fat from the beef tendon. Cut the beef tendon into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. The beef tendon can be hard to cut, so a sharp heavy knife (like a Chinese cleaver) is a necessary tool. Put the beef tendon into the slow cooker, add the Shaoxing wine or dry sherry, and then add water or stock until the ingredients are mostly covered.
3. Cover the slow cooker and cook the contents on the low setting for up to 8 hours. At the end of the cooking time, transfer the cooked beef tendon to a bowl, discard the cooking liquid and contents of the soak out cooker, and refrigerate beef tendon overnight.

Fu Chi Foods Brand
Chili Paste with Fermented Soy Bean
(湖南豆豉辣椒, wu4 naam4 dau6 si6 laat6 ziu1)

Preparation Instructions (Cooking Day)

1. Take the beef tendon out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
2. Wash and cut the long beans into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
3. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
4. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
5. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Fu Chi Foods brand chili paste with fermented soy bean 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 and before adding oil. Add the beef tendon pieces to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the beef tendon in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Set the beef tendon aside in a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bowl with the ginger and garlic. Quickly stir fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant before adding more oil and then the long beans. Add some liquid (water, stock, or Shaoxing wine) to facilitate heat transfer and stir fry the long beans. Add the green onions and the contents of the bowl with the beef tendon 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.