Stir-fried Beef with Bamboo Shoots and Pickled Peppers

中文菜谱： 泡椒春笋炒牛肉

Bamboo shoot has been an important part of Chinese cuisine for thousands of years.  The best season to eat it is late winter and early spring.   The ones sold in winter are more tender, juicer and a lot expensive because they have to be dug out from underground by hand.  

Bamboo shoot hunt in spring time is very fun.  I went on a few such trips with my family when I was little.  We hiked into high mountain area where wild bamboos grew into a forest.   A couple days’ spring rain may expedite bamboo shoot growing.  At the right timing, we could harvest between 60 to 80 lbs bamboo shoots on one single trip.  

Good old times...

And now my family is still doing their traditional annual bamboo shoot hunt in spring for fun.  I do mine too, here in China town O(∩_∩)O~

Pickled vegetable is an old traditional way to preserve food when food was scarce.  There is a pickle jar in my kitchen which I brought back from China so that I can make my own pickled peppers and other vegetables at home. 

They taste great straight out of the pickle jar.  Sometimes I sauté pickled peppers with pork or beef.  The combination is amazing! 

Ingredients for beef marinating：

200 g beef chuckeye roast
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon rice cooking wine
1 to 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons water/ chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon sugar

Ingredients for stir fry：

200 g bamboo shoots (sold in most Asian grocery stores, fresh & frozen)  
a handful pickled red chili peppers
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 gloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
salt to taste
vegetable oil for cooking

Directions：

Thinly slice the beef

Add the beef to a bowl, along with soy sauce, ground ginger, corn starch, oyster sauce, oil, rice cooking wine, ground white pepper, sugar, chicken stock/ water. 

Mix everything together.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 

Thinly slice the bamboo shoots.  Blanch them in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds.  Drain well.

Homemade pickled chili peppers straight out of the pickle jar

Heat a cast iron wok over high heat.  Add oil, along with pickled peppers, garlic and Sichuan peppercorns.

Add marinated beef

Stir fry the beef just until they turn colors.

Add bamboo shoots, along with soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and salt.

Continue stir frying for another couple minutes.  Remove from heat and serve hot immediately.

Pickled chili peppers are essential to the dish.  They add a surprisingly nice delicate flavor to the beef; spicy, a little bit savory and sour.  It well balances the richness of beef flavor.  Love it! O(∩_∩)O~

Spicy Ground Beef with Diced Dried Tofu

中文菜谱：

香辣牛肉豆干酱

The spicy ground beef here is more like spicy meat sauce.  It is not served as an independent entrée or appetizer in our house.  Instead it is used as a condiment or topping in rice and noodles. 

In China, there is a long time tradition to make meat sauce with heavy dose of salt and oil, in some areas chili peppers too.   The original purpose in doing so is to preserve meat and other food ingredients when food was scarce.  However, as time goes by, people get attached to this type of food.  Pick any Asian grocery store you like.  Go in there.  You will see so many different varieties of chili oil sauces, meat pepper sauces and pickles on the shelves.

Sometimes I buy meaty sauce from my favorite Asian grocery stores.  Other times I like spending time in kitchen whipping up my own special spicy meat oil sauce. 

I usually add spicy ground beef to the freshly homemade noodles as a topping.  The flavor is enhanced and the noodles are so much more appetizing  O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

1 lb lean ground beef (95% or 100% lean)
2 gloves of garlic, peeled and finely diced
1 small piece of ginger root, fine chopped
2 tablespoons rice cooking wine
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
1/4  to 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup Pixian chili paste
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns
1/3 to 1/2 cup crushed red chili pepper/ cayenne pepper
salt to taste
1/2 cup of cooking oil
1 package of dried seasoned tofu (weighs around 200g.  Usually sold in fridge section in Asian grocery stores)

Directions:

Dice the dried tofu.

Heat a light weight cast iron wok over high heat.  Add oil, and then ground beef, along with chopped ginger and garlic. 

Stir fry the beef until it turns slightly golden brown. 

Reduce the heat to medium low.  Add rice cooking wine, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, Pixian chili paste, oyster sauce, ground Sichuan peppercorns, crushed red chili pepper/ cayenne pepper.

Sauté the mixture over medium low heat for 8 to 10 minutes

Add diced tofu.  Season with salt.

And then continue to sauté for another 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove from heat

The spicy ground beef can be stored in Ball Mason jars in the fridge for up to a week.

It goes really great with noodle soup and steamed white rice.

I posted how to make noodles at home before: Homemade Noodles in Thick Pork Broth  

Cook the noodles in boiling water for 45 seconds to one minute.  Add to a bowl, along with soy sauce, sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorn oil, chili oil sauce, spicy ground beef with dice tofu, finely shredded cucumber, chopped cilantro, green onion, and of course, crunchy soybeans.

Crunchy soybeans was posted recently: Crunchy Soybeans

Use pair of chopsticks to toss everything together.

Bon appetite! O(∩_∩)O~

Grilled Beef Tendon

中文菜谱：

烤牛筋串

Beef tendon is a rare ingredient in American grocery market.  But it is quite popular in Asian market for its unique texture.  Beef tendon has very tough tissue.  Maybe that is why it is underappreciated in American market.  After a long simmering/ cooking time, it becomes tender, gelatinous, still a bit chewy, with a mild beefy flavor.  We put it in broths, noodle soups, porridges, stir-fries, even meatballs. 

It is only until very recently that I discovered it tastes excellent even grilled! Wow! I am telling everyone I know that how good it is.  And I am going to show you a great way to grill beef tendon.

Ingredients：

2 large pieces of beef tendon (weighs between 1 1/2 to 2 lbs)
1 to 2 tablespoons rice cooking wine
1 large piece of ginger root, smashed
1 spice & herb bag
water for cleaning and cooking
salt to taste

Ingredients for spice & herb bag：

3 to 4 star anises
1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper corns
1 black cardamom pod, smashed
4 to 5 cloves
3 to 4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried ginger
a handful of dried red chili peppers, cut into pieces

Directions：

Add star anises, Sichuan peppercorns, cardamom, dried ginger, cloves, bay leaves, chili peppers to a piece of coffee filter paper.  Wrap and tie it up to be a spice bag.

Rinse the beef tendon.  Trim off any excessive fat if necessary.

Add beef tendon along with water, ginger, rice cooking wine, spice bag and salt to an instant pot pressure cooker.  Cook with high pressure setting for 40 to 50 minutes.  Beef tendon is become tender but still pretty chewy and al-dente which I like very much after 40 minutes’ cooking.  If you prefer softer texture, just cook 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Refrigerate beef tendon until completely chilled.  With a sharp knife, cut into half inch cubes.

Skewed with stainless steel skewers

Preheat the grill to 400F/204C

Brush both the griddle and beef tendon skewers with oil. And then add the skewered beef tendon to grill.

Remember to brush them with oil from time to time.  Otherwise the skewed tendon could be quite sticky to the griddle.

Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce too.

Soon, they would be golden brown.

Sprinkle with a mixture of crushed chili pepper, cumin and sesame seeds

Sprinkle with a little bit more spices before serving. 

Bon appetite! O(∩_∩)O~

Sizzling Grilled Dry Aged Ribeye & New York Strip Steak

中文菜谱：

铁板dry aged ribeye & new york strip steak 牛排

Dry aged steak is one of our favorite.  But they are hard to find on the market.

When beef has been aged in a carefully temperature and humidity controlled room for a certain amount of time ranging from weeks even to months, beef will be broken down by enzymes to produce amino acids, fatty acids and sugar.  That is to say, the beef will transform into good eats with better taste, tendered texture and intensified flavors.

It is a very expensive and time consuming process.  Besides, the beef needs to be trimmed before selling or cooking.  All costs add up quickly.  No wonder dry aged steaks on steakhouse menu are always so pricey.

Imagine how exciting I was when I found out Central Market in Houston sells dry age beef! O(∩_∩)O~

There are two types of dry aged steak available in Central market.  One is ribeye, and the other one is New York strip steak.  

Marbling is gorgeous

Price is more expensive than regular steak.  But it is quite reasonable when compared to what you paid for aged beef served in a steakhouse. 

I bought one piece of each so that it would be convenient to compare them side by side.  

Leave the steak out on the countertop for about 20 minutes to warm up to room temperature.

Meanwhile, preheat the grill to 450F/232C with 2 sizzling plates in it. 

The one on the bottom is ribeye.  The other one on top is New York strip steak.

Sprinkle with generous amount of freshly ground black pepper

Add sea salt to taste.  Lightly press down the salt and pepper.

Add to the grill.  Grill for 2 minutes.

2 minutes later, flip the steaks over and grill for another 2 minutes.

Remember, we are making sizzling steaks here.  The extremely hot sizzling plates will continue to cook the steak later.  So you don’t want your steaks in the grill for too long.

All sizzling plates are different.  Some are cast iron; some are aluminum; some are thick; and some are thin.  All of that needs to be considered when we decide how much time for steak to cook in the grill.  I am using two thick cast iron sizzling plates.  And I know from prior cooking experience that 2 minutes each side is perfect for my medium rare steaks.

Transfer the steaks to sizzling plates.

And now get the plates and steaks out of the grill and serve.  That beautiful sizzling sound is like wonderful music to a foodie like me O(∩_∩)O~

Do use extra caution because the plate is really really really hot!

This one is ribeye.

It is very tender, juicy, and buttery with an intense beefy and meaty flavor.

This one is New York strip steak.

The texture is a bit tighter than ribeye, with a nuttier and more intense beefy flavor.

The one on the left is New York strip steak, and the one on the right is ribeye steak.

The reason I love sizzling steak is that even when it comes to the last bite, it is still perfectly pink, tender and juicy on the inside.  And there would not be any unpleasant red color juicy running in the plate at all.  

Give it a try and you will love it too! O(∩_∩)O~

Spicy Sliced Mixed Beef in Chili Oil Sauce

中文菜谱：

夫妻肺片

Spicy sliced mixed beef in chili oil sauce is a very traditional and popular dish in Southwest China area.  The weather is extremely hot and humid in summer time there, so local people have been developed a unique spicy cuisine to spice up regular daily food to be more appetizing.

According to legend, local poor working class people couldn’t afford expensive beef cuts like steak or ribs.  They collected what was left or unwanted beef parts from market; boiled them for a long time until they got tender enough to eat; thinly sliced, tossed them with soy sauce and red chili oil sauce.  The dish got popular because it was quite affordable and surprisingly tasty.  Years later, a local food stand run by a couple further adapted and perfected the dish by adding more complicated chili sauce; substituted beef lung with beef shank.  So people named the dish after this couple.  Don’t be surprised if you see “couple’s beef” on a Chinese restaurant menu.  That is how the dish got its name.  A Sichuan restaurant Twin Peppers in Houston even name the dish “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”.   Interesting, isn’t it?

I still call it spicy sliced mixed beef in chili oil sauce to avoid any possible confusion.

For beef boiling：

1 beef shank
2 large pieces of beef tendons
1 small piece beef tripe
1 large piece of ginger root, cleaned and rinsed, smashed
3 to 4 dry chili peppers
1 small piece of cinnamon bark
2 star anises
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
3 to 4 cloves
1 black cardamom
3 to 4 pieces of dried ginger
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
salt to taste  

Directions：

Clean and rinse beef shank, tendon, and tripe under running cold water.  Pat dry with kitchen paper towel

Wrap all the spices with a piece of coffee paper filter. Tie it up.

Fill a 4 quart cast iron/ stainless steel soup pot with water.  Add beef shank and tendon.  Cook over high heat until it boils.  Keep cooking over high heat for about 10 minutes.  Skim any bubbles or impurity on the top with a large spoon.

Add ginger root, rice cooking wine and spice bag to the pot.

Cover with lid.  Reduce heat to simmer until the beef is soft and tender.

It takes about 4 to 5 hours.  You can use a chopstick to test if the beef is ready.  If the chopstick can easily pierce through the center of beef shank and tendon, it means they are ready.  If not, continue cooking for another half an hour or so.

Drain the beef.  Reserve the broth for later use.  Refrigerate beef shank and tendon for 3 to 4 hours.  When the beef is chilled, it becomes firm and tight, easier to slice.

Using a sharp kitchen knife, thinly slice beef tendon and shank

Beef tendon tends to bounce back when being sliced, so you need to be very careful.

Beef shank is very pretty on the inside

Chili oil sauce

I make it from scratch.  But you can buy them from any Asian grocery store. 

Besides chili oil sauce, cooked soy sauce is also very important to the dish. I adapt the recipe from http://bbs.wenxuecity.com/archive/2005/cooking/298864.html, many thanks to the original author

Ingredients for cooked soy sauce:

1 cups of soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
3 to 4 cloves
1 small piece cinnamon bark
1 black cardamom
2 to 3 star anises
1 to 2 bay leaves
1 small piece of ginger root

Add all the ingredients to a small sauce pan

Cook over medium heat.  When the soy mixture boils, reduce to as minimum heat as possible to simmer for 40 to 60 minutes.

Remove from heat.  Cool it down under room temperature.  Cover with lid and store in refrigerator.  

I double the amount of this recipe because I use this cooked soy sauce a lot.

Thinly slice the beef tripe, blanch it in boiling water for a couple minutes.

Add thinly sliced beef tripe, tendon and shank to a large bowl, along with: (http://bbs.wenxuecity.com/archive/2005/cooking/298864.html, many thanks to the original author.)

1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 cup chili oil sauce
3 to 4 tablespoons cooked soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn oil
salt to taste
chopped/ sliced celery
crushed roasted peanuts

Gently toss all the ingredients in a large bowl with a big spoon.

Doesn’t is look tasty?  O(∩_∩)O~

Tossed beef can be served immediately.  I like to set it aside for another half an hour before serving it.  The extra time will help all the spices to mix better.  The flavor will be more smooth and harmonious.

 Sprinkle the top with crushed peanuts and serve.

It is spicy for sure.  Other than that, there is also a savory, sweet and umami flavor all mixed with delicious beef.   Mixed beef is from different part of beef with taste and texture of their own, chili oil sauce is the one that brings everything together and makes the dish so tasty. 

If you haven’t tried it before, you might never know inner beef can be so delicious too. (￣▽￣)”