I jump at the chance to use any recipe that involves getting the wok out. Simple, basic ingredients, take on a whole new flavour of their own when stir-fried, but there is a definite art to stir frying if you don’t want your food steamed or braised. If you’re new to stir frying, this recipe is a good one to get you started.
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of groundnut oil
- 1 tablespoon of black bean sauce
- 14 ounces / 400g good quality steak, cut into fine strips
- 1 yellow pepper, cored and deseeded and cut into strips
- 1 red pepper, cored and deseeded and cut into strips
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 chilli, finely chopped
- 7 fluid ounces / 200ml beef stock
- 1 teaspoon of corn flour
Method
Heat the oil in a wok before adding the black bean sauce and stirring for a few seconds to combine.
Add the steak and stir fry for a further minute.
Add the peppers, onion and chilli and stir fry for 2 minutes.
Add the stock, and while this comes to the boil, combine the corn flour with 1 tablespoon of water and add to the wok. Stir for another 1-2 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Serve.
Tips
When stir frying, always ensure you have a sufficiently large wok for the task, especially where vegetables are involved. If the ingredients are too crowded the food becomes steamed rather than fried (or a mixture of both) giving quite different results in flavour. The secret of wok cooking requires as much as possible in direct contact with the high heat, with constant stirring and movement.
Trivia
Bell peppers, also known as sweet peppers, are not particularly hot, but the hottest part is the point where the seed is attached to the white membrane inside (and not the seeds themselves). This part has the highest concentration of capsaicin, the compound that gives peppers their pungent flavour.
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