Crispy Ginger Beef
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb thinly sliced steak (a very lean cut, such as flank or sirloin, sliced into narrow strips)
- 1/4 c cornstarch
- 2 T cornstarch
- 1/4 c water
- 1 egg
- 1/2 thinly sliced large carrot
- 2 chopped green onions
- 2 T minced ginger (fresh)
- 1 T minced garlic
- oil (as needed for 1" depth)
- 3 T soy sauce (reduced sodium)
- 1/4 c rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
- 1/2 T sesame oil
- 1 T Sugar (Granulated)
- 1 t crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
Method
Place cornstarch in a large bowl. Add water gradually while whisking. Beat egg into cornstarch mixture.
Pour 1" of oil into wok, heat until boiling hot, but not smoking. Pull beef through corn starch mixture, a strip at a time, and then add to oil. Don’t crowd the pan! Cook, stirring frequently, until crispy. Remove, drain on paper towel, and set aside. Repeat until all the beef is cooked.
Drain off all oil except for about 1 T and add carrots, onion, ginger, and garlic in that order. Stir fry briefly over high heat.
Combine soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes; add to vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil and then add beef. Heat through and serve immediately.
Notes
Original source: http://www.recipezaar.com/Crispy-Ginger-Beef-107072
Tried it the first time with 1/4 c sugar, but it was too sweet. The amount of sauce is good, as written here. I think dark soy sauce would work best; the first time, I just did 1 T light, 1 T reduced sodium, and 1 T kikkoman. Needs more ginger than the 1 T we tried the first time, so we'll up that to 2 T next time.
SJ Note 20 Feb 2011: Very tasty! Served with spring rolls and noodles, very filling. Next time we have this with spring rolls, try cooking the beef first in the deep fat for the spring rolls; then just use a separate skillet for the rest of the dish. This would also ensure the spring rolls and main dish are ready about the same time. This called for 1 T crushed red pepper flakes, which sounded like too much to us; we used 1/2t this time, but didn't taste it, so could up it to 1t next time. Adding the beef to the sauce at the end makes it lose its crispiness; perhaps keeping the beef warm in the oven and just tossing it all together at the end would be better.