An genuine Hunan beef recipe that includes a extra layered taste and spicy style, together with tender juicy beef and crisp chili peppers stir fried with a brown sauce that’s filled with umami. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
Hunan Beef is a well-liked Chinese language dish recognized for its daring, spicy, and savory flavors. Originating from Hunan province in China, this dish is characterised by its use of recent chilies, garlic, and numerous seasonings that give it a distinctively sizzling and fragrant essence.
American takeout VS. Hunan beef from China
The variations between American takeout Hunan Beef and the standard Hunan Beef served in China are fairly noticeable.
In American Chinese language eating places, Hunan Beef usually consists of a greater diversity of greens comparable to broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, and generally mushrooms. The dish is normally sweeter attributable to added sugar or sauces like hoisin or oyster sauce. Whereas it nonetheless has some warmth, the spiciness is usually toned down.
The normal Hunan beef focuses extra on the core components, like beef, garlic, ginger, and chilies. The emphasis is on the purity of flavors, with a big reliance on recent, native components. The dish is considerably spicier in its genuine kind, as Hunan delicacies is understood for its liberal use of recent and dried chilies. The warmth is a defining attribute of the dish in China, usually leaving an enduring impression of its fiery nature.
On this recipe, I wish to introduce you to the authentic-tasting Hunan beef, with components yow will discover in US grocery shops.
Hunan beef components
What varieties of chili peppers to make use of
Hunan beef usually makes use of a mix of some varieties of dried and recent chili peppers to present the dish a spicy and layered style.
The dried peppers I take advantage of listed below are dried going through heaven chilis (朝天椒, Chao Tian Jiao). They’re medium spicy with a velvety crimson shade. You’ll be able to simply discover these chili peppers on the Chinese language market or at The Mala Market. You can too experiment with different varieties of dried chili peppers that aren’t too spicy and barely smoky on this dish.
Hunan beef usually makes use of recent inexperienced chili peppers and crimson peppers for a vibrant shade and spicy style.
On this recipe, I used Chinese language lengthy inexperienced chili peppers and hen’s eye chilis, which give the dish a fiery spiciness.
As an alternative of Chinese language lengthy inexperienced chili peppers, anaheim peppers and cubanelle peppers are each milder and have an analogous texture. They might tone down the dish a bit however nonetheless offer you a satisfying outcome.
For the crimson pepper, it’s one of the best to make use of recent Er Jing Tiao (二荆条) peppers. It’s a kind of lengthy crimson chili pepper that’s much less spicy than hen’s eye chili, for a extra rounded style. I ended up utilizing hen’s eye chilis as a result of that’s all I may discover. Be happy to skip the crimson pepper if it’s too spicy for you. Or you need to use crimson jalapeno peppers as an alternative.
Learn how to prep the meat
American takeout hunan beef usually makes use of thick lower beef within the stir fry. In China, Hunan beef at all times makes use of a particular, very skinny sliced beef for a novel texture and higher taste absorption. To stop over-cooking the meat and to make it tender, a small quantity of baking soda is added to the marinade to tenderize the meat.
In an effort to slice the meat thinly, it’s a lot simpler to make use of half thawed beef that’s nonetheless a bit stiff however doable to chop with a knife. You’ll be able to obtain it by both inserting recent beef within the freezer for 30 to 60 minutes, or by thawing the meat within the fridge in a single day or in a bowl of water till half thawed.
Mise en place
You need to have all of the components ready earlier than cooking. Your desk ought to have:
- Marinated beef
- Combined sauce
- Aromatics and spices (dried chili, sliced garlic and ginger, floor Sichuan peppercorn)
- Sliced chili peppers
I group my components within the order that they are going to be added to attenuate clear up and streamline the method.
Learn how to cook dinner Hunan beef
Cooking Hunan beef is sort of quick upon getting all of the components prepped and close by.
- Sear the meat and switch it to a plate
- Cook dinner the aromatics and spices till aromatic
- Cook dinner the chili peppers
- Add again the meat
- Pour within the sauce
- Combine all the pieces collectively
As soon as cooked, the meat might be richly flavored, juicy and tender, together with the crisp peppers for a pleasant distinction. This dish makes use of simply sufficient sauce to coat the components, so it’s flavorful however the style of the recent components nonetheless comes via.
What kind of skillet to make use of
In China, Hunan beef is at all times cooked in a wok with extraordinarily excessive warmth for the smoky wok hei. I discovered it fairly difficult in a house kitchen. You’ll be able to learn extra about it in my weblog put up Wok vs. Skillet and determine your optimum setup. However briefly, it’s laborious to attain the identical excessive warmth utilizing a house range with a wok. Plus, the meat requires fairly a little bit of ability to cook dinner correctly in a wok (flash fry), so these skinny items don’t keep on with the pan and get overcooked.
I take advantage of an OXO 12” nonstick skillet in my cooking. In comparison with a wok, it heats up quicker and extra evenly on a house kitchen range (particularly when you use induction or electrical range). You don’t want to make use of further oil to stop the meals from sticking. And it’s fairly simple to cook dinner with. You do lose the smoky wok hei, however the dish will nonetheless style wonderful.
Learn how to serve Hunan beef
Hunan beef tastes greatest with a bowl of steamed rice as a essential dish. For the reason that dish is sort of flavorful and spicy, it pairs completely with the rice so the spiciness received’t be overwhelming. Think about serving different non-spicy dishes to scrub your palate and make the meal extra balanced. For instance:
Different scrumptious stir fry dishes
Genuine Hunan Beef (湖南小炒肉)
Components
Marinating
- 1 lb (450 g) flank steak
- 1 tablespoon gentle soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons hen broth
- 1 tablespoon gentle soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon hen bouillon
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
Stir fry
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 6 cloves garlic , sliced
- 1 thumb ginger , julienned
- 4 dried Chinese language chili pepper , lower into small items
- 1/4 teaspoon floor Sichuan peppercorn
- 2 to 4 sizzling chili peppers , sliced into circles (*Footnote)
Directions
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Break up the flank steak alongside the grain into two lengthy items, then slice each bit in opposition to the grain into 1/8” (3 mm) skinny items. Switch to a medium bowl. Add the sunshine soy sauce, baking soda and white pepper. Combine totally together with your arms to evenly coat the meat. Add the cornstarch and blend once more. If the cornstarch doesn’t distribute evenly, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of water and blend once more. Put aside to marinate for quarter-hour whereas getting ready the opposite components.
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Combine the sauce in a medium bowl and put aside.
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Warmth the oil in a big skillet over medium warmth till sizzling. Unfold the meat into the pan with out overlapping. You may wish to cook dinner in batches in case your pan will not be sufficiently big. Sear with out shifting till the underside turns golden brown, 1 minute or so. Flip the meat to cook dinner the opposite aspect, till calmly seared and the within remains to be barely pink. Switch the meat to a giant plate and put aside.
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Add the remaining oil, garlic, ginger, dried chili pepper and floor Sichuan peppercorn. Cook dinner and stir till the garlic turns barely golden, 1 minute or so.
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Add the pepper. Stir and cook dinner for 1 minute. Then add again the cooked beef.
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Stir the sauce once more to dissolve the cornstarch fully. Pour into the skillet and stir instantly. Cook dinner till the sauce is evenly coated. Flip off the warmth and switch all the pieces to a big plate. Serve over steamed rice as a essential dish.
Notes
- I used Chinese language lengthy inexperienced peppers for the stir fry and a small quantity of hen’s eye chili for garnish. It ends in a dish that could be very spicy. Skip the hen’s eye chili for a barely toned down dish. To switch Chinese language lengthy pepper, it’s fairly good to make use of anaheim pepper or cubanelle for a milder style. And it’s good to make use of Chinese language crimson lengthy pepper or crimson jalapeno to exchange the hen’s eye chili so as to add shade to the dish (not required).
Diet
Serving: 1serving, Energy: 413kcal, Carbohydrates: 4.9g, Protein: 48.4g, Fats: 21g, Saturated Fats: 7.1g, Ldl cholesterol: 94mg, Sodium: 817mg, Potassium: 626mg, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 1.9g, Calcium: 37mg, Iron: 3mg
