Hunan Beef is an easy and quick recipe for Asian cuisine. Have you tasted food in Chinese take-away restaurants before? Then the result of today’s preparations may pleasantly surprise you.
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Firstly, cooked homemade food with love is always tastier. (This is my subjective opinion, perhaps yours is different).
Secondly, in most Chinese take-away restaurants, just add pepper and a few dried chili peppers to a regular Chinese frying sauce. And the taste of the sauce may differ from the original. But I will gladly share with you this recipe and the intricacies of its preparation.
What is Hunan Beef Recipe?
In the southern part of central China, there is Hunan Province. It is famous for its sour and spicy sauces. This region has huge agricultural production.
It allows varying the ingredients used in the preparation of Hunan beef. It combines the sour and hot flavors of the Hunan region and a large part of vegetables.
The amount of chili paste you can add at your discretion by adjusting the temperature of the dish.
How to cook Hunan beef?
Prepare all the ingredients in advance. Red pepper and celery are cut into pieces. Broccoli inflorescences you can boil in saltwater for 1-2 minutes. If you use raw baby corn, also boil it for about 5 minutes.
Cut beef into thin slices and fry in oil over high heat. Get the beef and add vegetables to the pan. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce and pour the vegetables.
Cook until thickened sauce and serve hot.
Cooking should be quick, over high heat, no more than 3-5 minutes at each stage.
How to store Hunan beef?
Cool the dish completely. Fold in a container with a sealed lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
It is stored in the freezer for up to three months.
Recipe Tips;
- Use only fresh beef.
- Add 1 tablespoon of wine vinegar to the chopped meat. Stir and let stand for half an hour.
- Cook the beef for 2-3 minutes. The more liquid evaporates from it, the harder it will be.
- If you use fresh baby corn, also boil it in advance. Boil in salted water for about 10 minutes. Drain, dry the corn.
- Sprinkle the dish with sesame seeds as desired.
Answering Your Burning Questions
What is the difference between Hunan and Szechuan beef?
Sichuan beef, like Hunan beef, using a large amount of chili pepper. But in this case, we see the use of more Sichuan pepper, chili, and garlic.
Its taste is a mixture of sweet and spicy with a tingling sensation. This is the main characteristic of Sichuan beef.
Sichuan beef gives a feeling of sweetness and tingling. And Hunan beef is hot and spicy.
The following ingredients are mostly used in cooking Hunan beef: grated ginger, soy sauce, green onions, wine, vinegar, pepper with sugar anise, beef, caraway seeds, canola oil, corn starch, and sesame seeds.
In the case of Sichuan beef, the ingredients are beef, cinnamon, dill, cloves, peanuts, chili oil, chili paste, chopped soy chili sauce, wine, corn starch, peanuts, egg whites, ginger, Worcester sauce, sesame paste, onions and much more another.
Hunan has dark brown sauce, and Sichuan has red sauce. These sauces determine the color of the dishes.
Is Hunan beef breaded?
No, I don’t use breadcrumbs in making Hunan beef. The meat is cutting into thin slices and quickly fried in oil over high heat.
Hunan beef calories. 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of this dish contains 230kcal.
What does Hunan beef have in it?
The main ingredient here is beef, you say. But no. Hunan beef would not be Hunan without its sour and spicy sauce with honey and chili. Vegetables playing an important role.
Baby corn and celery give a crunch, soft broccoli and red pepper give color and brightness.
How spicy is Hunan beef?
The original Hunan beef recipe is spicy and smoky. It combines garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice sauce, honey, and chili paste. You can adjust the amount of chili paste and the degree of hotness of the dish to your taste.
Best Hunan Beef Recipe
Hunan Beef is an easy and quick recipe for Asian cuisine. Have you tasted food in Chinese take-away restaurants before? Then the result of today’s preparations may pleasantly surprise you.
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes minutes
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound flank steak thinly sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup broccoli florets cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup celery thinly sliced
- 1 medium red bell pepper cored, seeded and diced
- 1 cup canned baby corn drained and halved
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 teaspoons chili paste such as sambal oelek
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
Heat oil in a large pan.
Fry the thinly sliced beef in a pan on both sides for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Layout the pieces in one layer. If necessary, do it in several approaches. Transfer to a container, cover with a lid or foil.
Add chopped red pepper, celery, and broccoli to the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes until soft.
Add the corn and garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the beef back to the vegetables, mix.
In a separate bowl, combine beef broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, honey, chili paste, and corn starch. Pour into a pan, mix and cook until the sauce thickens.
Serve hot with sauce over rice.
Notes
- Fry the beef by laying it in a pan in one layer. Otherwise, it will give a lot of liquid and will cook, but not fry. As a result, you will need more time to evaporate the excess liquid. And meat runs the risk of becoming tough.
- If the pan is filthy after frying the beef, wash it. Heat a new serving of oil and continue cooking.
- I recommend pre-boiling broccoli in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes. Drain broccoli over with a stream of ice water. So it will keep a bright color.
- Additionally, you can add salt after adding the sauce. Since it is salty in itself, perhaps this will be enough for you.
Note 5. Adjust the amount of chili paste for yourself.
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