Essential Asian: Jet Tila's Super-Fast Szechuan Beef
Turn to star chef Jet Tila for all things Asian. Tila's multi-ethnic culinary background instilled in him an encyclopedia knowledge of ingredients and techniques that he's only too happy to share with us. This lightning-fast Szechuan beef needs little more than a minute in the wok to delight everyone at the table.
Although I specified flank steak for this recipe, filet mignon is an amazing choice! It cooks and eats like butter, super tender. This is a drier stir-fry, meaning there's not a lot of natural gravy. If you love a ton of sauce, you can always add about ¼ cup of chicken stock with a teaspoon of water and a teaspoon of cornstarch. Add this slurried stock at the end, and you'll have delicious gravy with every bite.
Reprinted with permission from 101 Asian Dishes You Need To Cook Before You Die
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorn powder
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
- 1 pound flank steak
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing rice wine or sherry
- 3 celery ribs
- 2 scallions
- :::sauce:::
- In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients, and reserve.
- :::beef:::
- Heat your wok or large skillet to high and add the oil. Distribute the oil evenly using a spatula. When a wisp of white smoke appears, stir in the beef, ginger and garlic, and cook for about 1 minute or until the beef is medium rare.
- Add the rice wine or sherry and deglaze the pan. Let the alcohol burn off and absorb into the beef. Fold in the sauce and stir well to coat the beef.
- Add the celery and cook it for 20 to 30 seconds, or until just tender. Then add the scallions and cook for an additional minute or until heated through.