Kylie Kwong’s beef with black bean and chilli sauce

"This Cantonese classic needs no introduction, and needs little in the way of tweaking to bring it up to date," says Kylie Kwong.

Serves 4

Prep

20M

Cook

Total

25M

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“This Cantonese classic needs no introduction, and needs little in the way of tweaking to bring it up to date,” says Kylie Kwong. “It’s all about fresh ingredients and using the best beef you can find. It’s a versatile sauce, so wallaby, pork, chicken or noodles also work well in place of the beef. It’s the ultimate all-rounder.”

Ingredients

600 gm beef fillet, cut into 1cm slices

80 ml vegetable oil

1 small Spanish onion, thinly sliced

2½ tbsp julienne ginger

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tbsp salted black beans (see note)

2 tbsp Shaoxing wine

50 ml light soy sauce, or to taste

1 tbsp malt vinegar

1 tsp brown sugar

½ tsp sesame oil

2 long red chillies, thinly sliced

½ red capsicum, thinly sliced

Thinly sliced spring onion, to serve

Beef marinade

2 tbsp Shaoxing wine

1 tsp white sugar

Method

1.For marinade, combine Shaoxing, sugar and 1 tsp sea salt flakes in a large bowl. Add beef, stir to coat and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2.Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok over high heat until surface shimmers, then add half the beef and stir-fry until just cooked (30 seconds). Remove with a slotted spoon and sear remaining beef.

3.Add remaining oil, onion, ginger, garlic and black beans to wok and stir-fry until fragrant (30 seconds). Return beef to wok, add Shaoxing wine and stir-fry to combine (30 seconds). Add soy, vinegar, sugar and sesame oil and stir-fry for another minute. Add chilli and capsicum, stir-fry until just softened (30 seconds) and serve hot scattered with spring onion.

Salted black beans, fermented and salted soy beans, are available from Asian grocers.
Notes

Kylie Kwong

Styling by Emma Knowles

Styling by Lucy Tweed

Ingredients

Method

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