Beef with Black Bean Sauce
Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
500 g/1 lb lean rump or fillet steak
2 tablespoons canned salted black beans
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons water or stock
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 teaspoon cornflour (cornstarch)
1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil
Directions
Freeze beef for 1 hour or until firm enough to slice paper thin. Put black beans into a small strainer and rinse under cold tap for a few seconds. Drain, then mash roughly with a fork. Combine with the soy sauce and water. Put chopped garlic on a board and crush with the sugar to a smooth paste.Heat a wok, add peanut oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add beef and fry over high heat, tossing and stirring until beef is no longer red. Add garlic and fry for 30 seconds, then add bean mixture. Bring to the boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 2 minutes, then stir in cornflour mixed with a tablespoon of cold water and let sauce boil and thicken. Stir in sesame oil and serve with steamed rice.
Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)