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Ginger beef
Calgary's crispy beef in sticky ginger-chilli sauce
Ginger beef was created in the 1970s at a Chinese restaurant in Calgary and is now on the menu of nearly every Chinese-Canadian restaurant on the Prairies. Thin strips of beef are coated in a cornflour batter and fried until shatteringly crisp, then tossed in a glossy sweet-sour sauce full of fresh ginger, garlic and chilli with strips of carrot and pepper. Serve at once with steamed rice. A common mistake is saucing the beef too early, which turns the crust soggy. Chef's tip: fry the beef twice; the second fry is what makes it crunchy.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the beef
- 1 ⅛ lb beef flank or sirloin steakcut into thin 6 cm strips
- 2 ⅞ oz cornflour
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp water
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 ¼ cups vegetable oilfor deep-frying
For the sauce
- 1 ⅜ oz fresh gingercut into thin matchsticks
- 3 cloves garlicchopped
- 1 carrotcut into matchsticks
- 1 red peppercut into strips
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 2 ⅞ oz brown sugar
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tsp cornflour
- 2 spring onions (optional)sliced
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Beat 1 egg, 2 ⅞ oz cornflour, 3 tbsp water and ½ tsp salt into a thick batter and coat the 1 ⅛ lb beef flank or sirloin steak strips well.
5 minStep 2: Heat 4 ¼ cups vegetable oil in a wok or deep pan to 350°F. Fry the beef in small batches for 3 minutes, separating the strips, until pale golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Never leave hot oil unattended.
10 minStep 3: Reheat the oil to 375°F and fry the beef again for 1–2 minutes until deep golden and crisp. Drain.
5 minStep 4: Mix 2 ⅞ oz brown sugar, ¼ cup rice vinegar, 3 tbsp soy sauce, ¼ cup water and 2 tsp cornflour.
3 minStep 5: Pour all but 1 tbsp of the oil out of the wok (let it cool before discarding). Stir-fry 1 ⅜ oz fresh ginger, 3 cloves garlic, 1 carrot, 1 red pepper and 1 tsp dried chilli flakes over a high heat for 2 minutes.
4 minStep 6: Add the sauce and boil for 1 minute until thick and glossy. Toss in the beef, coat quickly, scatter with 2 spring onions and serve straight away with rice.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ginger beef take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of cornflour?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
- What can I use instead of egg?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
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