Stir-Fried Beef with Ginger and Spring Onions (姜葱牛肉)
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: beef with ginger and spring onions, chinese stir fried beef, jiang cong niu rou, stir fry beef
Prep Time: 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 15 minutesminutes
Total Time: 35 minutesminutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 254kcal
Author: Bee Leng | The Burning Kitchen
Stir Fried Beef with Ginger and Spring Onions is a household dish for many Chinese. It's simple to make, but tricky to get it right. Find out the secrets of mastering this deceivingly simple dish with this article!
Wash the beef and pat dry. Cut the beef into thin slices by cutting against the grain (see video for demonstration).
Add the marinade ingredients to the sliced beef. Then mix well and marinate for about 20 mins.
Remove the skin from the ginger and slice thinly.
Remove the roots of the spring onion and wash thoroughly. Cut into 5-6 cm lengths.
In a bowl, add in all the ingredients for the gravy and mix well.
In a separate bowl, add in the ingredients for the cornflour slurry and mix well.
COOKING METHOD
Heat up 200 ml of oil in a wok over high heat. Once heated, add in the beef and quickly stir fry it for 30 sec or until about 70-80% cooked.
Quickly transfer to a plate. Pour the excess oil in a bowl, leaving behind 2 TBsp of oil in the wok.
Heat up the oil over high heat, then add in the ginger slices. Fry for 1 min or until aromatic.
Next, add in the spring onions and stir fry, mixing well. Do not overcook the spring onion otherwise it will be too limp.
Add the beef back and the bowl of sauce to the wok and give it a quick stir.
Immediately add in 1 TBsp of Chinese Rice Wine and the cornflour slurry. After 0.5 minute, or when the gravy thickens, transfer to a plate. Best served hot with a bowl of hot steaming rice.
Video
Notes
MARKETING TIPS
Beef
If you buy beef from the market, tell the seller to give you the tender part for stir fry or for steam boat. The seller will usually give you what you need.
Secondly, make sure that the beef is bright reddish in color. If it looks dark or dull coloured, it is usually not fresh.
Ginger
Young ginger which is pale yellow is usually meant for pickling with vinegar as it is less fibrous. Old and matured ginger is more spicy and fragrant.
Buy Bentong ginger, which is very fragrant and more spicy than normal ginger. You can identify it as it is darker in colour, thinner and has a somewhat muddy appearance.
COOKING TIPS
Add a little sodium bi-carbonate to help tenderise the beef.
Don't add salt to marinate the beef as it has the tendency of drawing much juices from the beef thereby making it dry and dehydrated.
Don't add salt into the marinate as it tends to draw out water in the beef, making it dry and dehydrated after frying.
HOW TO CUT BEEF
Cut across the grain (muscle fibres) when cutting the beef. If you slice it parallel, it will be very tough and rubbery.
Do not slice the beef too thinly or it will tend to overcook and it will not has much substance.