BEEF:
1 lb Beef (rump is better than
-flank), cut into 2x1x1/4"
-slices
3/4 c Pure water chestnut flour
1/2 c Water
4 tb Vegetable oil
pn Salt
SAUCE:
1/2 c Beef broth
4 tb White vinegar
8 tb Sugar
3 tb Dry rice wine or
-pale dry Sherry
3 tb Mushroom soy sauce
3/4 ts Oyster sauce
1 1/2 ts Ginger; minced
1 1/2 ts Garlic; minced
1 1/2 ts Scallion; finely sliced
1 pn White pepper
2 tb Corn starch +
2 tb Water
GET READY:
Pieces of dried orange peel
Dried red chile peppers (cut
-into halves)
2 Scallion bulbs;
-coarsely chopped
2 cl Garlic; coarsely chopped
2 tb Vegetable oil
This recipe is a modification of a recipe for Orange Chicken
posted by Russell S. Finn back in Dec. 1993. The suggestion of
using water chestnut flour to coat the beef was a great one (it
really is important to the dish).
Mix together all ingredients except beef. The coating will have
the consistency of thick gravy. Stir in the beef to coat; it will
not coat heavily, but that's okay. After it sits for a while, it
gets like wall putty. Let sit for 20-30 minutes; I do it the
night before and let sit in refrigerator overnight.
Heat oil in a deep-fryer, pot, or wok; enough oil to deep-fry the
beef. If you hold a wooden chopstick in the oil and tiny bubbles
stream from the tip of the stick, the oil is hot enough (I use the
highest setting on an electric burner). Add several pieces of the
coated beef to the hot oil and fry for 5-8 minutes (you may want
to remove a piece after 5 minutes and cut it in half and taste it
to see how you like it. I cook it for 7-8 minutes until parts of
the outside start to turn dark brown; it's a matter of personal
choice).
Put the first batch into the oven (on low) to keep warm while you
fry the rest. Prepare the sauce while you fry the beef.
Sauce: Mix all ingredients together and set aside.
After beef is finished and waiting in the oven, heat a wok on high
heat and add the 2 tb oil. Add the dried chiles, pieces of
orange peel, and scallion (the Orange Chicken recipe calls for 5
pieces of orange peel and 3 dried chiles. I use 20 pieces of
orange peel and 25-30 chiles, but I like it hot. The heat amount
is your choice, but I would use 10 pieces of orange peel
initially. You can increase it next time if it's not "orangy"
enough for you). Stir-fry about 30 seconds; peel starts to give
nice orange smell and chiles start to darken. Add the garlic and
stir-fry another 30 seconds or so 'til peels start to brown and
chiles turning black. Stir up the sauce mixture and add to the
wok. Stir constantly until sauce thickens and starts to bubble
(1-2 minutes). Add the pieces of beef and stir until thoroughly
coated. Serve with rice.
You can also serve this dish over a bed of broccoli which has
been stir-fried or lightly steamed (still crunchy, but not raw).
The water chestnut flour is the key to the crunchy coating. You
can remove the orange peel after it's done if you don't like to
eat them, but they taste good if eaten together with a piece of
beef and a couple of peppers,
