The Shun Lee Cookbook - Michael Tong [54]
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 pound spinach
1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the short ribs and cook for 1 minute to remove some of the surface fat. Drain in a colander.
2. Combine the sherry, sugar, soy sauce, scallions, ginger, cinnamon sticks, chilies, star anise, white pepper, and 3 cups of water in a flameproof casserole. Stir to mix. Add the short ribs, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the meat is fork-tender, about 2 ½ hours.
3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the short ribs to a chopping board. Cut the meat from the bones, transfer the meat to a bowl, and discard the bones. Remove the scallions, ginger, and whole spices from the sauce. Boil the sauce, uncovered, until it is syrupy, glossy, and reduced to ¾ cup, about 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spinach and cook until tender, about 1 ½ minutes. Drain in a colander. Place the spinach on a platter.
5. Return the short rib meat to the casserole and cook to heat through. Spoon the meat and sauce over the spinach, and serve immediately.
THIS SIMPLE, LIGHT SICHUAN home-style dish offers unique textures because all the ingredients are shredded. There are so many chilies at the market these days: be as adventurous in your selection as your heat tolerance will allow. Start with a mildly hot green pepper, such as Anaheim, or Hungarian or Italian frying peppers, and increase the heat with smaller, hotter candidates like cayenne or serrano chilies. Even a mix of green and red bell peppers with a single chili works for more timid palates. Makes 4 servings
Shredded Beef with Fresh Hot Peppers
12 ounces flank steak
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons rice wine or dry sherry
½ large egg (beat the egg until foamy, then measure out half)
Pinch of ground white pepper
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Vegetable oil, for passing through, plus 1 tablespoon
⅓ cup sliced canned bamboo shoots (cut 2 inches long and ⅛ inch thick)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
About 6 ounces assorted fresh hot peppers and chilies, mixed according to taste (see headnote), seeds and ribs removed, cut into thin 2-inch-long shreds (½ cup)
1 leek, white part only, trimmed and cut into thin strips about 2 inches long, well washed
5 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced ⅛ inch thick
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1. Freeze the steak until it is partially frozen but can still be cut with a knife, about 1 hour, depending on the thickness of the steak and the freezer temperature. Cut the steak across the grain into ¼-nch-thick slices. Stack a few steak slices and cut them in half crosswise, then lengthwise into ¼-nch-thick strips. Repeat with all the steak.
2. Mix the steak strips, 2 tablespoons rice wine, egg, white pepper, and salt in a medium bowl. Add 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch, and the 1 tablespoon oil, and mix again. Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Heat a large wok over high heat. Add enough oil to come about 1 ½ inches up the sides of the wok and heat it to 325°F. Carefully add the steak, taking care that the pieces don’t splash or stick to each other, and stir gently until they turn light brown, about 40 seconds. Add the bamboo shoots and stir-fry for 20 seconds. Using a wide wire-mesh strainer, transfer the steak and bamboo shoots to a colander to drain. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the oil from the wok.
4. Mix the soy sauce, sugar, and remaining 2 teaspoons rice wine in a small bowl, and set it aside. Dissolve the remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 3 tablespoons cold water in another small bowl, and set it aside.
5. Return the wok with the oil to high heat. Add the peppers and chilies, leek, and garlic, and stir-fry until the peppers are crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Return the steak and bamboo shoots to the wok, add the soy sauce mixture, and stir-fry until the beef is heated through, about 20 seconds. Add the cornstarch mixture