Beef and Mushroom in Black Pepper Sauce

Cantonese cuisine got quite a lot of influence from England, so it is very common to use Worcestershire sauce, which gives a powerful umami taste and a slight touch of sourness to the dish. The beef is coated with starch and pan-fried. You can get some crunchy texture if you eat it fast enough, but the purpose of the coating here is to catch the flavorful sauce; this is a delicious and quick dinner recipe.

INGREDIENTS

To marinade&coat the beef

• 14 oz (400 grams) of beef (sirloin, flank steak, chuck, round)
• 1/3 tsp of salt
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup of cornstarch
• 2 tsp of baking powder

To make the sauce

• 2 tbsp of soy sauce
• 2 tbsp of honey
• 1.5 tbsp of oyster sauce
• 1 tsp of dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp of black pepper or to taste
• 1 tbsp of minced garlic, grated
• 1 tsp of ginger

Others

• 3-4 tbsp of oil
• 230 grams (0.5 lb) of mushroom, sliced
• 1/4 of an onion, cut into chunks

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Slice the beef into 1/5 of an inch thick pieces. Season with 1/3 tsp of salt, then crack in 1 whole egg and mix thoroughly.
2. Combine 2 tsp of baking powder with 2/3 cup of cornstarch.
3. Coat the beef with the starch and set it aside so the starch can have some time to bond together.
4. Slice the mushroom into 1/5 of an inch thick pieces; cut 1/4 of a large size onion into chunks.
5. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
6. Heat a carbon steel frying pan over high heat until smoking hot. Add enough cooking oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Pan-fry the beef slices on high heat for a minute on each side. Remove the beef to the side and continue to fry the next batch until all the beef is finished
7. Add the mushroom and use the rest of the oil to saute for a few minutes or until the mushroom is slightly golden on edge.
8. Add the onion and stir. Pour in the sauce and introduce the beef back to the pan. Toss to make sure every piece of the meat is coated with the sauce nicely.