Chinese cooking is one of the most diverse forms of food in the world. This probably isn’t surprising given the fact that China has a population of 1.3 billion people and is the fourth largest country in the world by land mass. People in the Western world often associate Chinese food with simple and westernised dishes such as Honey Chicken, spring rolls and Kung Pow Chicken. While these are certainly tasty dishes in their own right, the depth and variety of Chinese cooking is extraordinary, and often is not exemplified well in Western countries, although I believe we are lucky in Australia (particularly Sydney) to have so many excellent Chinese chefs and restaurants, and as such we have a closer appreciation of genuine Chinese cuisine. The restaurant that instantly comes to mind is The East, right at the steps of the Sydney Opera House. Its dishes are mouth-wateringly delicious and the setting could not be more perfect. And incredibly, it’s actually not too expensive, which is amazing given everything in Sydney costs you nearly another mortgage!
Chinese food ranges from province to province, from the lush and dense east coast to the arid, desert setting of the west, not to mention all of the provinces in between, such as Sichuan province. Certainly, Chinese people are known to have intriguing eating habits, and not all Chinese food is exactly appealing. We all know the dogs used in Southern Chinese cooking, and I recall a TV special leading up to the Beijing Olympics displaying one of many Chinese restaurants that specialise specifically in ‘genital’ dishes. The journalist, I believe, had a lovely taste of deer penis, which many Chinese people believe has medicinal and spiritual qualities and is often used as an aphrodisiac. While I have eaten fried cockroaches in Western Thailand, I’m quite sure that I would have to leave the dog and penis dishes to their local fans. However, this is a mere microcosm of Chinese cuisine, and Chinese food is eaten with passion in Chinatowns in every major city throughout the world.
This dish obviously comes from Sichuan province, roughly in the middle of China, and is a recipe I picked up from perhaps Australia’s best Chinese chef, Kylie Kwong. Sichuan food, to my recollection at least, is well known for its spicy and exotic qualities, and this recipe is a perfect example of its cuisine, although without a huge hit of heat. I’ve watched all of Kylie Kwong’s cooking DVDs, and I love how she has such passion for the food of her homeland and how she makes her recipes relatively simple to follow. If anything, her recipes in Simple Chinese Cooking are too basic, but they do provide an excellent introduction to cooking Chinese food, and illustrating the basic elements of Chinese dishes, such as how to make Sichuan salt and pepper used in this dish and many others. I will definitely buy her other cookbooks which, I believe, delve further into Chinese food and explore more exotic and complicated dishes, although often the simplest dishes, done well, are the most delicious. One of the great tips I picked up from Kwong that I now use all the time is, when I need to cut beef or steak into thin slices, to wrap the beef tightly in cling-film and place it in the freezer for half an hour. It really works, as it makes it so much easier to cut the beef into thin strips of meat appropriate for stir-fry.
I loved this dish, and I didn’t go light on the shredded iceberg lettuce leaves – I found that they provided a delicious contrast to the meat and enhanced the flavours. I really enjoyed making the Sichuan pepper and salt, and I now have a big tub of it stored for future cooking. By the way, this is something I’ve been meaning to say – in my recipes, I always increase the amount of garlic, as all my friends know that I’m a garlic fanatic. I never thought I would be worse than my brother – when I was younger I would sometimes get home and the house (very big) would absolutely reek of garlic. I have remembered to edit the recipes so far to reflect the actual amount of garlic called for (for example, I used 5 garlic cloves in this recipe, not 2), so if one of my recipes happens to call for an absurd amount of garlic, please prompt me with a comment to make sure I haven’t forgotten to edit it appropriately.
Recipe (serves 2):
2 x 300g beef fillets
1½ cups vegetable oil
2 large red chillies, finely sliced
1 tbs finely diced ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 tbs Hoisin sauce
2 tsp Sichuan pepper & salt
1 cup finely sliced spring onions
Extra pinch Sichuan pepper & salt
½ cup finely shredded iceberg lettuce leaves
Wrap beef fillets in plastic cling wrap. Place on a tray in the freezer for about 30 mins or until slightly firm, so they are easy to slice finely without tearing. Remove plastic cling wrap and, using a sharp knife, cut beef fillets into 5mm pieces.
To make the Sichuan pepper & salt, dry roast Sichuan peppercorns and sea salt (1 tbs Sichuan peppercorns to every 3 tbs sea salt) in a heavy-based pan. When the peppercorns begin to ‘pop’ and become aromatic, take off the heat. Allow to cool, then grind to a powder in a mortar and pestle.
Heat oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly. Add half the beef and stir-fry for 1 min, stirring constantly to prevent beef sticking together. Remove from wok with a slotted spoon, drain well on kitchen paper and set aside. Repeat process with remaining beef. Remove excess oil from wok and wipe clean.
Heat extra oil in the same hot wok. Stir in chilli, ginger and garlic and cook on a medium heat for 30 secs, stirring constantly to ensure garlic doesn’t burn.
Return beef to wok with Hoisin sauce and stir-fry for a further 30 secs. Add Sichuan pepper & salt and stir-fry for 30 secs. Lastly, stir through spring onions.
Arrange beef on a platter, sprinkle with extra Sichuan pepper & salt, and top with lettuce.
Category: Chinese
Source: “Simple Chinese Cooking” by Kylie Kwong
Rating: Five stars
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