Grace Young describes this dish as “restorative food”.
The recipe is included in her wonderful book The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen. It’s been on my bookshelf for years and I love it so much that I’ve recently bought a Kindle copy (thanks Carol!), just so I can take it with me when I’m out and about…
. . . . .
I’ve followed Grace’s instructions fairly closely – the only major changes being the use of eye fillet instead of flank steak, omitting the bicarb soda, and the substitution of Basmati rice for the more common Chinese long grain varieties. I also increased the sauce quantities by just a tiny bit, as my first attempt (above) was a touch too dry.
- 250g beef eye fillet
- 2 tablespoons peeled and finely shredded ginger
- 2 teaspoons Shao Hsing rice wine
- 2 teaspoons (light) soy sauce
- 1½ teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- good pinch of ground white pepper
- 1½ tablespoons (6 teaspoons) oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoons water (60ml) for sauce
- 200g Basmati rice (about 1 cup)
- 440ml water for cooking rice
- light olive oil
- 2 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
1. Wash the Basmati rice in three changes of water. Place the rice into a large bowl, cover with water and allow to soak for 30 minutes. After soaking, drain the rice well and add it to a microwave proof container. Add 440ml water and cover with a lid. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, then on half power for 18 minutes. I have a 1000 watt microwave.
Note: use any rice you like and cook it in any way that you’re familiar with – in a rice cooker or on the stove should work equally as well.
2. Slice the beef finely, making sure to cut against the grain for maximum tenderness. Peel and finely julienne the ginger (I like to add quite a lot)…
3. In a small bowl, combine the beef, ginger, rice wine, soy sauce, cornflour, sesame oil and pepper. Stir to combine. In a separate bowl, stir the oyster sauce with the 3 tablespoons of water.
4. A few minutes before the rice is cooked, stir two teaspoons of oil into the beef mixture. Heat up a frying pan and add a tablespoon of oil. Add the beef carefully, spreading it out into a single layer as much as possible. Allow to sit for a minute, then stir fry for an additional 30 seconds until the beef is brown, but still a bit rare. Stir in the oyster sauce and chopped spring onions…
5. Arrange over the hot rice. Replace the cover and heat in the microwave for a further minute or so, but be careful not to overcook or toughen the beef…
All three of my men loved this dish. Big Boy specifically asked for the recipe so that he could add it to his repertoire of easy to make dinners!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I can just tell how delicious and tender this is- look at that glossy sauce. Yum.
Hi Celia: This looks so very good!
Can you tell me why you left out the baking soda?
Have a Joyful Day :~D
Charlie
Charlie, traditionally in Chinese cooking, meat is marinaded in a mix of ingredients including bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to tenderise it before stir frying. I find I can always taste the bicarb in the finished dish and I don’t enjoy it. Since I was using eye fillet instead of flank steak (which was what the original recipe specified), the bicarb wasn’t needed as it was already very tender. :)
Thank you Celia!
This looks so delish and the beef looks really tender too…great recipe:))
Celia. That sounds just perfect. No wonder your boys loved. So would I.
I was expecting this dish to be a slow cooker all day thing but, wow, sounds like just thing for a quick mid week dinner. Thanks, C! I’ll try this for the mencats. Maz.
I have that book! Not sure if I ever made that one but yours looks so good! I may have to dig it out and give it a try.
That looks and sounds absolutely gorgeous – I love that it’s so simple but packed with so many gorgeous flavours. And all the ingredients are ones I have to hand!
That looks luscious. I have already eaten but would happily accept a portion of that 😉
This is just right for me because I have been cooking Chinese dishes lately. Your dish looks delicious and perfect for a quick easy meal. Thank you!
So simple and so delicious! Love the sound of this book, Celia… must look out for it!
THANK YOU!
This looks so delicious. I’d love to come over for dinner!
This looks incredibly delicious! The sauce sounds wonderful, my mouth is watering.
I too do not use baking soda as I find it gives me an aftertaste, though slight, that I dislike.
That looks good! I’ll have to try it. What could I substitute for the oyster sauce? I don’t have any and never used it before.
A very favourite meal for me with a rather similar way of prep. Now I have never used bicarb: and do not usually have fillet handy – have found just ordinary ‘strir-fry beef’ from the s’market comes up fine or scotch fillet strips or sirloin or similar . . .And Manuela – do get some oyster sauce and try . . . I use it more than almost any other of the Chinese ones: a lovely refined flavour for both meat and vegetables :) !
sounds lovely Celia, and I like the fact that it uses a small amount of very good meat that goes a long way…
Yummy… It looks delicious. I will try…
It sounds really simple and lovely, Celia. I can’t wait to get cooking again. This is firmly at the top of my “to cook” list. Roll on the kitchen renovations!
Hi Celia, I love the look of this recipe, but wonder why it requires a final one minute zap in the microwave?
Cheers and thanks for another mouth-watering recipe!
Lorelle
Lorelle, the original instructions were to put the beef on the rice and then allow it all to cook for a further five minutes or so. I think it’s just to make sure everything is heated through and the sauce and rice get a chance to combine. I’ve made it recently with just putting the meat on and letting it sit for a while and it was fine, but I usually give it a short zap in the microwave to make sure it’s all warmed through – this is the sort of dish which needs to be served hot! :)
We learned bicarb soda is also being used in Japanese tempura. In your finished dish, it appears the meat is tender even without it so perhaps it’s also on the quality of meat. You made us hungry, Celia!!!
Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx
I just want to eat EVERYTHING that you make! This sounds really easy and looks delicious. I’ve heard about using cornstarch to soften the meat but I don’t like how claggy the sauce becomes during cooking so I always leave it out!
yum it looks delicious celia!
I always love your posts, Celia and I should like to be a tiny presence sitting on a shelf or hopping into the plates on your dining table. But, I especially loved the little hammerhead shark – I want to grow old like that – trouble is they tend to tidy up and sweep away little old ladies who tootle down the street like that!
Jan, Pete just read your comment and said, “the men in white coats show up in vans..” :D
What an interesting book and that beef on rice has me itching to get into the kitchen and make it. The photographer and my son have the same name. I wonder if Al takes pictures. :)
Restorative food, indeed – it looks so devilishly tempting. The sort of food I’d almost certainly eat too much of.
I can eat this kind of Chinese dish every single day … three times a day! This beef dish looks so inviting! So honest! So true! Outstanding and crazy good recipe.
Thanks a billion for the post. Hugs.
I’ve been microwaving rice recently as I couldn’t get the gas low enough on my cooker and didn’t want to buy another gadget i.e. rice cooker. Must try your method (I tend not to soak and just put 1 1/2 times water and heat on high for 10 minutes.
Sally, I only soak basmati rice. Other varieties don’t seem to need it!
Looks delicious, Celia. Will definitely try this one! xx
Boy does that look like a wonderful meal. All I need is to get myself some of the oyster sauce and I’ll be good to go. It’s funny but for some reason I haven’t been doing much with rice lately – lots of pasta, but not much rice. Looks like I need to get some rice going – you’ve given me a craving.