five-spice beef stir-fry
2 min readPreparation time 20 minutes, plus marinating Cooking time 10 minutes 3 lean sirloin steaks, about 200 each 100g sugar snap peas 1 carrot 100g baby corn low-calorie cooking spray 1red chilli, thinly sliced 1 small onion, sliced 100g broccoli florets 300 ml(/2 pint) boiling hot vegetable stock 2 tablespoons light soy sauce 1 tablespoon cornflour, mixed to a paste with 2 tablespoons cold water salt and white pepper spring onions, to garnish Marinade 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder garlic cloves, crushed 2 teaspoons ground Szechuan peppercorns 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flake 2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine Slice the beef into thin strips and place in a glass or ceramic bowl with all the ingredients for the mari-nade. Toss to coat evenly, cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours, or overnight if time permits.
Trim the sugar snap peas, cut the carrots into thin matchsticks and halve the baby corn lengthways.
Spray a large nonstick wok or frying pan with cooking spray and heat over a high heat. Add the beef mixture and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until browned and sealed.
Add the chilli and onion to the pan and stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the remaining vegetables and stir-fry for a further 1-2 minutes. Add the stock and soy sauce and stir well.
Bring to the boil, add the cornflour paste and stir to mix thoroughly. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes until the mixture has thickened.
Remove the pan from the heat and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Ladle into warmed bowls and serve with steamed rice and shredded spring onion to garnish.
For minced pork five-spice noodle stir-fry, follow the recipe for Five-spice Beef Stir-fry, replacing the steak with 625 g lean minced pork and breaking it up with wooden spoon while stir-fry-ing. To serve, cook 625g fresh egg noodles according to the packet instructions, divide between 4 warmed wide bowls and top with the pork and vegetable mixture.
