Beef with black bean sauce
Ken Hom, who presented his first TV series back in 1984, almost single-handedly brought Chinese cooking into the nation's homes. Since then he has never been far from our TV screens, has sold over 270,000 books since 2000 and cooked for some of the world's most influential figures, including royals, presidents and prime ministers.
Ken celebrates his 30th career anniversary by showing us how easy it is to rustle up a healthy beef and black bean stir fry, just like his mum used to do, without reaching for that shop-bought sauce.
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Beef goes particularly well with black beans, the salty and pungent flavour of which is so distinctively southern Chinese. This simple, homely, stir-fried dish is one which I often ate as a child. Sometimes my mother would vary the taste by adding an extra spicy touch of chilli bean sauce. It is very quick to cook and goes well with plain rice and any stir-fried vegetable.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
450 g (1 lb) lean beef fillet1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry1 tablespoon light soy sauce2 teaspoons sesame oil1 teaspoon cornflour1½ tablespoons groundnut or vegetable oil1½ tablespoons fermented black beans, coarsely chopped1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped3 tablespoons spring onions, finely chopped1 tablespoon shallots, chopped1½ tablespoons light soy sauce1 teaspoon sugar1 tablespoon chicken stock1 tablespoon sesame oil
Method
1. Cut the beef into thin slices 5 cm \(2 inch\) long. Put the slices into a small bowl and mix them well with the Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornflour. Let them marinade for about 20 minutes. 2. Heat a wok or large frying\-pan until it is hot. Add half of the oil, and, when it is very hot and almost smoking, lift the beef out of the marinade with a slotted spoon, put it in the wok, and quickly stir\-fry it for about 2\-3 minutes. Then transfer it to a bowl at once.
Wipe the wok clean, re-heat it and add the rest of the oil. Then quickly add the black beans, garlic, spring onions and shallots. A few seconds later add the rest of the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil and then return the beef to the wok or pan. Stir-fry the entire mixture for another 5 minutes. Turn it onto a platter and serve at once.
Today we served with rice, mange tout, red pepper and bok choy.