Suzie Lee's Friday night fakeaway
Budget-friendly and tastes just as good as your Friday night takeaway - Suzie Lee is in the kitchen with her twist on a Chinese classic, Peking beef.
Peking beef
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the rice
(The basmati rice can be made in advance or you can use ready to heat packets)
400g basmati rice
Cold water
For the marinade
1 tsp cornflour
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
500g rump steak, cut into fine strips
For the batter coating
2 eggs, beaten
8 tbsp plain flour
8 tbsp cornflour
Pinch of salt and pepper
For the vegetables
1 medium onion sliced
1 large carrot sliced
1 red pepper sliced
Spring onion for garnishing
For the sauce (Put all into 1 bowl)
6 tbsp sugar
90ml white distilled vinegar
5 tbsp tomato puree
120ml water
90ml hoisin sauce
1 tbsp five spice mix powder
1/2 tsp of salt
Vegetable oil for frying
Method
1. To prepare the rice, rinse the rice 3 times with cold water and to get the starchy murky water away. Partially fill a pan with water, then add the rice, making sure it is level - the water should reach your first knuckle in your middle finger.
2. Bring to the boil and then bring it down to a simmer and when all the water is nearly evaporated, then turn the heat off and put the lid on the pot. Leave for 10 minutes, and you will then have perfect fluffy rice.
3. Mix together the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the beef strips and mix well, then leave in the fridge for at least 10 minutes, or up to the day before.
4. Mix together both flours. Dip the beef strips into beaten egg, then dust in the flour mixture.
5. Pour about 1 cm of oil into a heavy bottomed pot and put-on high heat. Test the temperature by dropping a little bit of the batter - it needs to be sizzling straight away.
6. Shake any excess flour of the beef, then fry in batches - don’t overcrowd the pot. They will literally take about 1-2 min to cook on each side - do not overcook! Place the cooked beef onto a grill tray and transfer to a 180C preheated oven so they stay crisp.
7. Add a little oil to a wok or large frying pan and heat, then add in the onions, carrots and peppers. Add 1 tbsp water to help to soften the vegetables. Cook for a couple of minutes till the onions are softened but not burnt.
8. Mix together all the sauce ingredients and add to the pan with about 4 tbsp of cold water. Now let this all bubble away and you will start to smell it caramelising, bubble for another 3-4 minutes until sticky.
9. Add in the beef strips and quickly toss everything together so everything is coated in the sauce, cook for another 2 minutes and then serve with the rice - enjoy!