Our teacher, Zhu Jinge, taught us this delicious, mild beef tenderloin with green peppers recipe, using a dry-blanching technique in low temperature oil. Blanching is the technique of cooking a vegetable or meat in a moderately hot liquid, near the boiling point, for a few seconds to a few minutes. When done with oil, it is considered dry-blanching because there is no water. This prevents the water-soluble nutrients from leaching out of the meat, and gives it a soft texture. The meat is not deep-fried. It is only blanched in the oil until it changes color.
Before blanching, the beef tenderloin is seasoned and tenderized with a marinade of baking soda, starch, wine, soy sauces, oil and sugar. After blanching, the beef tenderloin strips are finished in the stir-fry to a crispy coating glazed with starch water (DăQiàn 打芡).
The green peppers give the dish a bright color and contrasting texture: Crispy peppers with tender beef. Other ingredients include Chinese staples: scallions, garlic, and ginger.
Beef Tenderloin with Green Peppers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef, lean 500g
- 2 green peppers
- 1 scallion
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger
- 4-6 cloves garlic
Tenderizing marinade
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- ½ tsp MSG
- ½ tsp sugar, white (granulated)
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp peanut oil (substitute canola oil, lard, or soybean oil)
- 1 tbsp corn starch
Seasoning (adjust to taste)
- salt to taste
- ½ tbsp sugar, white (granulated)
- MSG optional
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or white cooking wine
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- starch water equal parts cornstarch and water
- ¼ cup water enough to cover bottom of pan
Instructions
- Wash the beef and the peppers. Remove the seeds from the green peppers. Peel the onion, ginger, and garlic.1 pound beef, lean
- Trim away the fat and gristle from the beef and cut it into 3 mm thick pieces. Put the beef in a bowl. Mix the tenderizing marinade and add to the beef. Stir well to mix.1 tsp baking soda, ½ tsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp light soy sauce, ½ tsp MSG, ½ tsp sugar, white (granulated), 2 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp peanut oil, 1 tbsp corn starch
- Cut the green pepper into strips and chop the green onion, ginger and garlic.2 green peppers, 1 scallion, 1 tbsp fresh ginger, 4-6 cloves garlic
Cooking
- Add enough oil to the wok to cover the beef, heat to 90-120 C (194-248 F), then put the beef in the wok and fry it until the meat turns color. Do not fry the beef to a crisp! Braise the beef in the oil until the color changes, then remove the beef from the wok and set it aside. Then add the green peppers to the oil, blanch them for 15 seconds, then remove them.
- Heat oil in the wok and add the green onion, ginger and garlic. Add a small amount of water and seasonings (sugar, MSG, soy sauce, oyster sauce) to taste.salt, 1/2 tbsp sugar, white (granulated), MSG, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp dark soy sauce, 2 tsp light soy sauce, 2 tsp oyster sauce, 1/4 cup water
- Add the beef and stir fry.
- Add the green pepper and stir fry. Then add starch water and 1 tsp (5ml) of sesame oil.starch water, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- Finish.
Video
Notes
- Decide whether to add salt after trying the taste. Soy sauce and oyster sauce are salty, so add them before adding salt
- When frying beef, the amount of oil should cover the beef.
- The starch water is used to glaze the ingredients as part of finishing. Glazing can be done in small quantities and several times.
- Adjust the seasonings in pan to your taste. The quantities here are approximate, based on 1.25 pounds of lean beef.
Nutrition
Baking soda
The chemical name for edible baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. It can be used for deep-fried food. Adding an appropriate amount of baking soda can make the food crispy. When cooking meat, adding an appropriate amount of baking soda can make the meat tender.
When washing fruits or vegetables with baking soda, soak them in 5% baking soda water for 3 minutes to clean the fruits or vegetables.
Of course, baking soda can also be used to clean dishes, but aluminum products are not recommended.
Baking soda can also be used for refrigerator care. Use 20% baking soda to scrub the refrigerator or other smooth-surfaced furniture to make the furniture “new”. Put some baking soda in the refrigerator to prevent peculiar smells in the refrigerator.
Baking soda is widely used in pasta making, carbonated drinks and the cooking of daily dishes.
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