Recipe – Orange Beef

Yesterday I prepared my adapted version of Szechuan Orange Beef that does not have too too much in common with the traditional version. I like both versions very much and will post the traditional recipe at a later date. I came to create my version when we ran across some beef dish that we liked a lot at a Chinese buffet restaurant in Québec years ago. I looked into adapting one of my recipes and the one that came the closest to the style was orange beef. This recipe can be done with beef tenderloin, but I normally prefer a cut of meet that is stringier in nature like flank or ‘bavette’ (bottom sirloin butt or flap meat). Yesterday I prepared it with extremely tender marinated ‘arrachera’, a juicy staple of Mexican cuisine. To achieve the desired texture to the meat I prepare a tasty coating and then deep fry it first until the outside is crispy and the inside is still nice and tender. This is followed by stir frying before serving. To easily make strips of the orange skins use a sharp vegetable peeler and cut long strips of the orange skin, cutting just into the orange colored part, without cutting into the white flesh. Yesterday we served the dish with a nice rice dish with vegetables, or you can add some snow peas or other vegetables to the meat if you wish. We really like this dish, and last year we had a vegetarian acquaintance over for a meal and she ended up eating two plates of the stuff. I guess that says enough about how good it is…

Ingredients

1 1/2 pound beef tenderloin or flank cut into short thin strips with the grain
1 tbs Hoi Sin sauce
1 tsp Chinese chili paste
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp orange juice
1 egg yolk
1 tbs cornstarch
2 cups sunflower oil
Skins of two medium oranges without the white par cut into strips
8 chiles de arbol or thin red chilies
1 cup orange juice
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs Hoi Sin sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs cooking sherry
1 1/2 tsp Chinese chili paste or to taste
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs sunflower oil
1 1/2 tbs cornstarch
1 1/2 tbs water
1 tsp sesame oil

Preparation

1. With your hands mix the beef slices with 1 tsp of Hoi Sin sauce, 1 tsp of chili paste, 1 tsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp of sesame oil, and 1 tsp of orange juice until well incorporated.
2. Add the egg yolk and mix well again.
3. Add 2 tbs of cornstarch and mix until you get a very sticky mess.
4. In a measuring cup put 1 of cup orange juice, 2 tbs sugar, 2 tbs Hoi Sin sauce, 1 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs cooking sherry, 1 1/2 tsp chili paste and salt and mix well to make the sauce.
5. Put 2 tbs cornstarch and 2 tbs water in a small bowl and mix well together with finger.
6. In a large wok place the 2 cups of oil and heat until ready to deep fry.
7. Deep fry the beef strips in batches until the outside is very crisp and the inside is still tender. Separate the strips as they cook, and drain them well after they are ready.
8. Clean up you wok and add 2 tbs of oil and place on high heat to stir fry.
9. Add the beef, the orange skins, and the chiles and stir fry for 3 minutes.
10. Add the prepared sauce mix and bring to boil covered.
11. Add the cornstarch in water to the mix and bring to boil to thicken.
12. Add the 1 tsp sesame oil to give a nice shine to the dish and mix well and serve while still hot.

Lucito