Hot and Sweet Orange Beef Stir-Fry
2
servings12
minutes3
minutes300
kcalPacked with intricate flavors, this Chinese orange beef recipe incorporates dried orange peels for depth and a subtle kick from dried chili peppers.
Ingredients
- For marinating the beef:
12 oz (350 g) flank or skirt steak, sliced against the grain
2 tablespoons of freshly extracted orange juice
1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
- For the sauce:
2 tablespoons of freshly extracted orange juice
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon sesame oil
A pinch of salt
A hint of ground Sichuan pepper
- For stir-frying:
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Julienned zest of ½ orange
Chopped fresh chillies (4)
Minced garlic (3 cloves)
Minced ginger (1 teaspoon)
Directions
- Put the beef strips in a bowl. Add all the marinade ingredients and mix thoroughly until the beef absorbs all the liquids. Let the marination process take 10 minutes.
- Prepare the sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients; set it aside.
- Heat a wok (or a deep frying pan) over high heat and add 1½ tablespoons of oil. Sear the beef until it turns pale. Take out the beef from the wok and place it aside.
- Discard any excess liquid in the wok. Include the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil. Introduce the julienned orange zest, chopped fresh chilies, minced ginger, and garlic. Cook until fragrant, then reintroduce the beef.
- Sauté for about 1 minute. Pour in the sauce (ensure you stir it well beforehand). Remove from heat when the beef is thoroughly coated with the thickened sauce. Serve immediately.
There are always an abundance of fresh fruits in our Red House. Occasionally, I would select some to incorporate into my savory dishes. Pineapple for beef fried rice, apple for beef stew, mango for chicken stir-fry, and so on. Today, I’d like to introduce another fruity dish: Spicy orange beef stir-fry (橙味牛肉).
A CLASSIC RECIPE WITH A TWIST
In a traditional Chinese dish known as Chenpi beef (陈皮牛肉), sun-dried tangerine peel is used to impart a refined citrus flavor to the beef. Unfortunately, dried tangerine peel was quite hard to come by in Switzerland, where I lived before moving to England. Then, by chance, I stumbled upon a cooking show from the 1980s in which the renowned TV chef Ken Hom demonstrated how to prepare stir-fried beef with fresh orange peel. It inspired me to create my own variation of orange beef, which boasts a more pronounced orange flavor and a spicier kick from fresh chili.
