Dish of Beef & Choy 5-Spice
(click to enlarge)

Beef & Choy Five-Spice


China

Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  
2 main
***
1-1/4 hr
Prep
Aromatically flavored beef marinade with fresh crunchy choy. Very Chinese. An excellent, easy to make dinner dish to accompany rice.




1
------
1/2
2
1/4
2
1/2
1/2
1/2
------
1
1/2
ar
2
1

#
---
in
cl
c
T
t
t
t
---
#
T

T
T

Beef lean (1)
-- Marinade
Ginger Root
Garlic
Soy Sauce, light  
Rice Wine (2)
Five Spice (3)
Chili Flake (4)
Sugar (opt) (5)
---------
Bok Choy (6)
Cornstarch
Water
Oil
Oil

Prep   -   (45 min - 20 min work)
  1. Slice BEEF across the grain into bite size medallions about 1/8 inch thick.
  2. Slice GINGER thin, cut slices into threads and chop very fine. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Mix all Marinade items and massage into the Beef. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes, turning once or twice (or at least 3 times as long in the fridge).
  3. Tear or cut leaves from BOK CHOY into pieces about 1-1/2 inches long. Slice the stems diagonally about 1/2 inch wide and keep separate.
RUN   -   (25 min)
  1. Drain Beef thoroughly, retaining all marinade.
  2. Mix drained Marinade with Cornstarch. Add enough Water to make about 1/3 cup.
  3. In a wok or spacious sauté pan heat 2 T Oil over high heat. Stir in Beef and fry stirring until it has completely lost its raw color and all exuded liquid has evaporated. Remove beef from the pan and set aside.
  4. Add 1 T Oil to the pan. Bring up fairly hot and stir in Choy Stems. Fry stirring about 4 minutes, then stir in Choy Leaves. Fry stirring another 3 minutes or until the stems are crisp tender.
  5. Stir up the Sauce Mix and cook stirring until it comes to a boil and thickens. Adjust thickness as desired with a bit of water or boiling off - it will thicken more as it cools. I serve this as a single main dish with rice, so I keep the sauce more liquid than for a Chinese style serving.
  6. Stir Beef back in until heated.
  7. Serve hot with plenty of steamed rice.
NOTES:
  1. Beef:

      Weight is for boneless with all excess fat removed. Cooking time is very short, so a reasonably tender cut is appropriate. Chuck (shoulder) is fine as long as it's clear meat with very little membrane and no gristle.
  2. Rice Wine:

      Use a good, drinkable Chinese rice wine, not that horrid salted "cooking" version. If you don't have this, use a Dry Sherry. Sake is made from rice but is not considered a good substitute. For details see our Chinese Rice Wine page.
  3. Five Spice Powder:

      This is a Chinese standard and should be made with Sichuan Peppercorns. You can make it yourself per our recipe Five Spice Powder.
  4. Chili Flake:

      Korean flake is good here. The amount given will be barely detectable - adjust to taste and how close to Korea you want to get. For details see our Chili Page.
  5. Sugar:

      I have given 1/2 the amount of sugar called for in the pattern recipe - but I actually leave it out entirely. Asians are very big on sugar, but I consider it a "Great Evil" (as do nutritionists not financed by the sweetener industry).
  6. Bok Choy:

      For this recipe I prefer the white stemmed bok choy rather than the green stemmed Shanghai bok choy (called "baby bok choy" in the supermarkets). Other similar choys can be used, and even Chinese broccoli. The photo example was made with Short Choy, new on the scene here in 2019. For details see the Asian section of our Cabbage, Mustard, Turnip & Radish Greens page.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
cmm_cowchoy1 081229 inet   -   www.clovegarden.com
©Andrew Grygus - agryg@aaxnet.com - Linking to and non-commercial use of this page is permitted.