Bette than take-out: Beef in black bean sauce

Bette than take-out: Beef in black bean sauce

Craving for Chinese food? Feel like eating out or ordering in but hesitant about the excessive oil, sodium and glossy sauces?

If you say yes to both, I’ve got you covered ;). This black bean stir-fried beef is a Chinese classic and an absolute best-seller that is on every oriental restaurant’s menu. And yet it is simple enough to make at home! Twist and turn it all you want with favourite seasonal vegetables and wholesome grains instead of white rice.

Put on your apron and let’s get cooking!

Ingredient – 4 servings

Beef marinate

  • 400 gr beef flank steak OR rump steak, cut into thin strips, about 1-cm thick
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 5 gr fresh  ginger, grated
  • 5 ml olive oil
  • *Secret ingredient* for super tender beef: 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Blackbeanbeef_Ingredients

Blackbeanbeef_Ingredients_Beef

Black bean sauce

  • 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 15 gr fresh ginger, cut into thin strips
  • 1/2 tsp (4ml) toasted sesame oil
  • 1-2 red chilli, seeded and sliced
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
  • 1.5 tbsp (25ml) coconut aminos* OR 1tbsp (12ml) low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp (30ml) black bean sauce OR fermented black beans

*Coconut aminos: is a GF and paleo substitute for soy-sauce and tamari. It has a salty-sweet flavour, made from sap of coconut palms that is fermented and blended with sea salt. It is more than 73% lower in sodium than normal soy sauce and contains a number of amino acids and vitamin B

Blackbeanbeef_Ingredients_Blackbean

Vegetables

  • 150gr carrots
  • 150gr paprika (colours of choice)
  • 1 medium onion, sliced in 1-cm wide wedges
  • 150gr haricot vers/string beans OR asparagus

Blackbeanbeef_Ingredients_Vegetables

Others

  • 10ml mild olive oil + 4ml sesame oil for frying
  • 1 red chili pepper + coriander for garnishing
  • 1 portion of black bean rice (click here for recipe)

Method

  • Marinate beef in a bowl, cover with cling film in the fridge for 20-30 mins while preparing other ingredients
  • Mix all ingredients for the sauce in a bowl, leave it aside
  • On medium high, heat up half of the oil reserved for frying in a wok pan
  • Saute garlic, ginger and chili until fragrant and lightly brown

Blackbeanbeef_StirFry

  • Start with stir-frying carrots. After about 2 minutes, add green beans and onion
  • Wok them for another 2 minutes before adding paprika and fry for another minute or so
  • Transfer vegetables onto a plate
  • Heat up some of the remaining oil in the pan
  • Add half of the marinated beef or as much as the pan can hold without overcrowding
  • Turn on to high heat, stir and wok for about 3 minutes until the meat if just cooked and is still juicy
  • Repeat for the remainder of the beef
  • Once all the meat is cooked, place all ingredients back into the wok
  • Pour in the black bean sauce and let it work for about 2 minutes on high heat.
  • Serve immediately on rice, garnish with extra red chili and chopped coriander

Beef in black bean sauce

Beef in black bean sauce

Nutritional value per serving

(from MyFitnessPal based on manually-added ingredients)

Calories: 257kC/1,075kJ; Fat 11.8 g of which saturated 1.7g, polyunsaturated 4.7g, Monounsaturated 1.7g; Cholesterol 51mg; Sodium 995mg; Potassium 17mg; Carb 12g; Sugar 5.1g; Protein 25g; Vit A 130.5%; Vit C 10.7%; Calcium 7.1%; Iron 5.5%



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