Here is one of my favorite Chinese dishes, from Hunan Province. I prefer it hot, but have also made it with a total absence of chili, when it still tastes very good.
The recipe is adapted from _Yan-Kit's Classic Chinese Cookbook_ by Yan-kit Soh.
Beef with Tangerine Peel (serves 4 with 2 other dishes)
Ingredients
1.5lb (700g) beef, or rump/fillet steak
5 pieces preserved tangerine peel
1 orange
4 tablespoons (60ml) groundnut or corn oil
1" length of fresh ginger root
6 spring onions (scallions)
1 tablespoon (15ml) medium sherry, or Shaosing wine
2-3 tablespoons (30-45ml) chili sauce
For the marinade:
0.75 teaspoons (4ml) salt
1 teaspoon (5ml) sugar
4 teaspoons (20ml) soy sauce
2 teaspoons (10ml) medium sherry, or Shaosing wine
1.5 teaspoons (7.5ml) potato or corn flour
2 tablespoons (30ml) water
1 dried red chili, de-seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon (15ml) hot chili oil
For the sauce:
0.5 teaspoons (2.5ml) potato or corn flour
2 tablespoons (30ml) water or clear stock
1 tablespoon (15ml) thick soy sauce
Method
Soak the dried tangerine peel in cold water for 2 hours or until soft. Drain and slice into thin strips (5mm or so). Peel the orange rind lengthwise, and blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes to remove
bitterness. Drain, rinse in cold water, and cut into strips the same width as the dried peel.
Cut the spring onions into 5cm lengths, and separate white and green portions. Peel the ginger, and cut lengthwise into fine threads. Cut the beef into thick slices about 2.5cm square, and put in a bowl.
Prepare the marinade: put salt, sugar, soy, wine/sherry and flour in with the meat. Add the water 15ml at a time, and stir until all is absorbed. Add chopped chili, and leave to marinate for 1 hour. Stir in the hot chili oil.
Heat a wok over high heat. Add oil and swirl round. Add ginger and white spring onions, and let them cook for a few seconds; now add the dried and fresh orange peels, and fry for a few seconds more. Add the beef, and turn with a spatula for 1-2 minutes, or until very hot. Splash the wine/sherry round the sides of the wok; when the sizzling dies away, add chili sauce. Lower heat, and cook for 2 minutes.
Mix together the ingredients for the sauce. Dribble the sauce into the wok, stirring as it thickens. Add green spring onions, and stir. Serve immediately with rice.
