DAY # 27 Beijing Beef

On a recent "Girls Day Out" my friend and i had gone to the mall to see New Year's Eve and decided to grab some lunch before the movie started.  She picked Panda Express (which was a little intimidating for me as I've only eaten there one other time and had NO CLUE as to what to order).  I pointed to one of the dishes that looked good and asked the lady "is that one spicy?"  She assured me that it was and that's what i ordered, Beijing Beef.  It was a mix of crunchy fried strips of beef, a spicy sweet sauce, and onions and red peppers.  I was in love the minute it hit my tongue!  So about a week or so later, i was craving the delicious Chinese dish again and decided to try to make it myself.  Off I went in search of a decent recipe.  I found that most of the recipes i found call for Ketchup in the sauce and i knew that had to be wrong, so i searched some more and found this recipe....

Beijing Beef

Beef~
1/2 - 3/4 lb Sirloin Steaks sliced into thin strips against the grain (can sub flank steak)
1/2 cup cornstarch (i ended up needing a little bit more)
oil (for frying)

Marinade~
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs water
1/2 tbs cornstarch

Sauce~
8 tbs water
4 tbs sugar
3/4 cup (1/2 Sweet and Sour Sauce and 1/2 Hoisin Sauce)
2 tbs Ponzu sauce with citrus
4 tbs white vinegar
2 tsp chili paste sambal oelek (can sub sriracha, which i did because that's what i had on hand)
4 tsp cornstarch (which i forgot  LOL)

Vegetables~
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 lrg garlic minced
1/2 tsp minced ginger (i used the kind in a tube)
1 red bell pepper diced
1 medium white onion sliced


Directions~

In a bowl, whisk together all marinade ingredients.  Place marinade in a mall sealable plastic bag, adding beef slices.  Seal and massage to coat.  Marinate for 15 minutes.  In the meantime, in a small bowl mix all the sauce ingredients together until completely combined (i place the ingredients in a sealable container and shake).  Set aside.  I also went ahead and cut all of my vegetables while waiting on the meat to marinate.

Drain marinade from beef.  Coat the beef slices with cornstarch.

Heat oil over medium-high heat until very hot.  Shake off any excess cornstarch and fry in batches until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Heat wok over medium-high heat (i just used another large skillet).  Add 1 tbs oil and heat to almost smoking.  Add minced garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 10 seconds.  Add bell pepper and onion, stir fry for 2 minutes (I cooked a little longer as i wanted my bell peppers a little softer). 

Pour sauce mixture into the wok over the vegetables and heat until boiling and sauce thickens.

Remove from heat then add beef to vegetable and sauce mixture.

It said to sprinkle the top with toasted sesame seeds, but i forgot to buy them so we left that part out.  I served it over steamed white rice.  I was going to serve it with this fried rice but forgot to cook my rice the night before so that it could dry out.

My husband was soooooooooooooooo impressed with my mad cooking skills!  He couldn't believe that it actually tasted like real Chinese food!  Yay me!

HERE is the pin.

???  Pinterest Win / Pinterest Fail  ???
Winner Winner Chinese Dinner!  LOL