Stir-fry Beef -w- Asparagus & Mushrooms

Ingredients

600gms beef (rump or fillet) - thinly sliced
1 bunch fresh asparagus - trimmed & sliced in 3 on the diagonal
2 cups fresh mushrooms – shitake, swiss brown or button- quartered
4 cloves garlic – finely sliced
½ red capsicum - sliced into strips
½ brown onion - halved & sliced thinly lengthwise
2.5cm piece of ginger, peeled & cut in a fine julienne
3 small hot chillis finely chopped
3-4 Tbs peanut oil

Marinade for Beef

1 Tbs light soy sauce
1 Tbs shaohsing rice wine
11/2 Tsp sesame oil
11/2 Tsp cornflour

Sauce

11/2 Tsp cornflour mixed in a little water
11/2 Tbs dark soy sauce
11/2 Tbs oyster sauce
11/2 Tsp sugar
¼ cup chicken stock or water
¼ cup water

Method

Mix the beef & the marinade ingredients together in a bowl, set aside for half an hour.

For the sauce, mix together the water & the cornflour in a small bowl & set aside. Combine the remaining sauce ingredients (except the ¼ cup water) in another bowl & mix well.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a pre heated wok & stir-fry the beef in batches over high heat for 1-2 minutes or until lightly browned but not cooked through adding more oil if necessary. Remove to a bowl & set aside.

Wipe the wok. Heat another tablespoon of oil, stir-fry the mushrooms & add to the beef. Now stir-fry the onion, garlic, chilli, capsicum & ginger for 2 minutes. Add the asparagus toss with the other vegetables & pour ¼ cup water down the sides of the wok. Cover the wok with its lid & cook rapidly for 2 minutes.

Return the beef & mushrooms to the wok, combining the beef & vegetables together. Stir in the sauce, add the cornflour & water mixture & cook until it is slightly thickened & lightly coats the ingredients.

Serve with plain steamed jasmine rice.

Spicy Black Bean Prawn & Squid

Here's a quick & easy stir fry I would like to share with you.  It takes no time at all to pull together but has great depth of flavour & will be sure to impress your family & friends. I can't remember where I originally sourced the recipe but I believe it was inspired by the wonderful Neil Perry.  This quantity will serve four with plain steamed rice & some braised bok choy.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons vegetable oil
500g green king prawns, shelled, deveined and butterflied
6 small squid tubes halved & scored
1 tablespoon fermented black beans
1/2 a red onion, sliced
2 birdseye chillis, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 knob ginger, finely sliced
3 tablespoons diced red capsicum
3 tablespoons diced green capsicum
4 long green shallots, in 3cm lengths
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine)
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon caster sugar
coriander leaves for garnish

Method

Heat the oil in a wok until just smoking. Stir fry the prawns until they are just cooked, remove from the wok and set aside.
Add the black beans, onion, chilli, garlic, ginger and red and green capsicum and stir fry until fragrant. Add the shaoxing wine, soy, caster sugar and oyster sauce then add the squid, return the prawns to the wok and toss through being careful not to overcook the seafood.
Scatter with the coriander and finely sliced shallot. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Red Braised Pork

Chairman Mao’s Red-Braised Pork

Mao Shi Hong Shao Rou

From the book Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop

Red-braised pork is a dish that in Hunan is inseparably bound up with the memory of Chairman Mao: many restaurants call it “The Mao Family’s red-braised pork.” Mao Zedong loved it, and insisted his Hunanese chefs cook it for him in Beijing. It’s a robust concoction, best eaten with plain steamed rice and simple stir-fried vegetables; the sweet, aromatic chunks of meat are irresistible.
In Shaoshan, Mao’s home village, cooks traditionally leave the skin intact for maximum succulence, and cut the meat into rather large chunks, perhaps 1 1/2 inches long; I tend to make the pieces a little smaller. This recipe takes its color from caramelized sugar, which gives it a lovely reddish gloss, but many people just use dark soy sauce at home.
When I make this dish I up the spices because I love flavour – I use 3 star anise, about 6 dried red chiles, a whole cinnamon stick & I also garnish it with fresh coriander which is not traditional but for me makes the dish complete.

Ingredients
1lb (500gms) pork belly (skin optional)
2 Tbsp peanut oil
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
Fresh ginger (a ¾-inch piece), skin left on and sliced
1 star anise
2 dried red chiles
A small piece of cassia bark or a small cinnamon stick
Light soy sauce
Salt
Sugar
Scallion greens


Method
Plunge the pork belly into a pan of boiling water and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes, until partially cooked. Remove and, when cool enough to handle, cut into bite-sized chunks.
Heat the oil and white sugar in a wok over a gentle flame until the sugar melts, then raise the heat and stir until the melted sugar turns a rich caramel brown. Add the pork and splash in the Shaoxing wine.
Add enough water to just cover the pork, along with the ginger, star anise, chiles, and cassia. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes.
Toward the end of the cooking time, turn up the heat to reduce the sauce, and season with soy sauce, salt, and a little sugar to taste. Add the scallion greens just before serving.

Serves 4