Wok-fried noodles with beef and pak choi for a quick mid-week dinner.
Ingredients
"This dish is reminiscent of a Chinese-style beef chow mein, except quicker, healthier and tastier," says cookbook author, Pippa Middlehurst.
"The first steps of tenderising the beef to help achieve an amazing texture and flavour, while cooking the beef separately ensures it remains tender. Small tricks like this will help you achieve restaurant quality at home," she adds. "I like to serve this with fresh hand-cut noodles to give a bold variety of textures, but a thick-cut dried noodle would work just as well."
Wok-fried noodles with beef and pak choi from Dumplings And Noodles by Pippa Middlehurst
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
350–400g steak (skirt, flank or sirloin), sliced across the grain into strips about 3mm wide
1tbsp cornflour
1tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
2tsp light soy sauce
15g dried mushrooms, soaked in 100ml boiling water
3 spring onions
About 400g thick dried wheat noodles
2tbsp neutral oil
3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
400g pak choi, leaves separated
For the seasoning sauce:
2tbsp light soy sauce
2tsp dark soy sauce
4tbsp oyster sauce
2tsp sesame oil
2tsp light brown sugar
A pinch of freshly ground white pepper
For the Sichuan chilli oil (makes 750ml, stores in the fridge for up to 3 months):
750ml neutral oil (such as groundnut or rapeseed/canola)
8cm piece of fresh root ginger (unpeeled), roughly chopped
White part of 1 leek or of 4 spring onions, sliced
1 head garlic, halved widthways
4 star anise
6tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
2tbsp coriander seeds
1 cassia bark stick or cinnamon stick
1 black cardamom pod
1tbsp green cardamom pods
4 bay leaves
2 cloves
1tbsp fennel seeds
100g Sichuan crushed chilli flakes
4tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
1tbsp fine sea salt
1tbsp light soy sauce
Method
Method:
1. Make the Sichuan chilli oil: Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan to 85–90°C (185–195°F) and add the ginger, leek or spring onions and the garlic. They should fizz barely in the pan. If they fizz fiercely, turn down the temperature; you don't want them to colour or burn. Once the temperature is adjusted to your liking, add the star anise and three tablespoons of the Sichuan peppercorns, along with the coriander seeds, cassia bark or cinnamon stick, black and green cardamom pods, bay leaves, cloves and fennel seeds. Turn the heat to the lowest setting and leave the oil to infuse for at least one hour, or preferably two hours. Keep an eye on the oil, stirring every now and again and making sure the aromatics are not getting too brown.
2. After the oil has infused, the garlic and ginger will look slightly darkened, but not browned, and a little shrivelled. Let the oil cool slightly before straining out the solid ingredients. Grind the remaining three tablespoons of Sichuan peppercorns using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder. Mix these in a bowl with the Sichuan chilli flakes, then add to the sterilised jar in which you plan to store your oil, along with the toasted sesame seeds.
3. Carefully pour the warm oil over the chilli flakes. The flakes will sizzle, and the oil will turn a deep red. Once the oil has fully cooled, add the salt and soy sauce. Seal the jar with a lid and store in the fridge.
4. Tenderise your beef. Add to a bowl with the cornflour, rice wine and soy sauce, combine well and set aside to marinate while you prepare other elements of the dish.
5. Combine all the ingredients for the seasoning sauce in a shallow bowl or mug. Drain the rehydrated mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid. Chop the spring onions into 4cm sections, then slice these lengthways to make thin matchsticks.
6. Cook your noodles until al dente or according to the packet and then drain. Do not cook them until soft, as they will continue to cook in the wok. Rinse these with plenty of cold water until they are completely cool (this will prevent them from sticking), then set aside.
7. Heat your wok over a high heat and add one tablespoon of the neutral oil. Add the marinated beef and stir continuously for two to three minutes or until the meat has browned and is crispy looking. Remove the beef from the wok and set aside, then clean the wok.
8. Place the other tablespoon of oil in the wok and set over a high heat. Add the garlic and quickly fry until fragrant (20 seconds), followed by the pak choi and rehydrated mushrooms, cooking for another minute or two. Keep everything moving in the pan to prevent it from burning. Add your cooked noodles, followed by the seasoning sauce and the reserved mushroom rehydration liquid. Return the cooked steak to the pan. Toss everything well and cook for one to two minutes until the sauce is bubbling and slightly reduced. Add the spring onions and toss through. Remove from the heat and serve.
Dumplings And Noodles by Pippa Middlehurst, photography by India Hobson, is published by Quadrille. Available now.
