Yield: 3 to 4

Woks of Life

Beef with black bean sauce is a tasty, classic combination found on Chinese restaurant menus around the country, and it’s easy to make at home!

Tenderize beef:

• 1lb beef flank steak or beef chuck (thinly sliced against the grain)
• 1tsp baking soda
• ¼cup water

Velvet beef:

• 2tsp cornstarch
• 2tsp vegetable oil
• 2tsp oyster sauce
• 1tsp Shaoxing wine

For the rest of the dish:

• 1½cups low sodium beef or chicken stock
• 2TBS black bean and garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee)
• 1TBS oyster sauce
• ½tsp sugar
• ½tsp dark soy sauce
• ½tsp sesame oil
• ⅛tsp ground white pepper (or to taste)
• 2TBS vegetable oil
• ⅔cup onion (cut into 1-inch/2.5cm pieces)
• 1cup red bell pepper (cut into 1-inch/2.5cm pieces)
• 1TBS Shaoxing wine
• 1cup snow peas (trimmed)
• 1½TBS cornstarch (mixed into a slurry with 2 TBS water)

Tenderize beef: In a medium bowl, add the beef, baking soda, and water. Massage the beef with your hands until most of the liquid is absorbed. Let stand for 1 to 2 hours (less time for more tender beef, or longer for a tougher cut like chuck). Then rinse the beef thoroughly under running water until the water runs clear. Drain. This step tenderizes the meat before marinating.

Velvet beef: Then add the cornstarch, vegetable oil, oyster sauce, and Shaoxing wine. Mix well and marinate the beef for at least 30 minutes, or even overnight if you’d like to make this ahead.

Premix sauce: In a liquid measuring cup, mix the stock, black bean garlic sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper, and set aside.

Stir fry: Heat your wok over high heat until it starts to smoke lightly. Add 1 TBS of oil around the perimeter of the wok. Add the beef in 1 layer and sear the beef on both sides until browned (this should only take 2-3 minutes). Turn off the heat, remove the beef from the wok, and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium-high, and add the remaining 1 TBS of oil, onions, and bell peppers. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, until the onions and peppers have very light sear on them.

Next, add the Shaoxing wine to deglaze the wok.

Stir in the sauce mixture you made earlier. Bring to a simmer and add the beef (along with any juices) back to the wok. Stir, then add the snow peas.

Bring the contents of the wok to a simmer.

Stir the cornstarch and water until incorporated into a slurry, and gradually add the slurry to the sauce, stirring constantly until the sauce is thickened to your liking (if it’s too thick, add a splash of water or stock, if it’s too thin, add more slurry).

Cook until the snow peas are just crisp-tender.

Serve immediately with steamed rice!

Tips & notes:

Prep time includes inactive marinating time! Actual active prep is about 20 minutes.