Boiled Beef in a Firey Sauce (shizhu niurou)

Good

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Cut the beef across the grain into thin, broad slices. Place in a bowl with 4 tsp salt, the Shaoxing wine and 1 tbsp oil. Mix well and set aside while you prepare the other ingredients.

Step 2

Place the Napa cabbage on a chopping board. Cut lengthwise into finger-thick slices, and then into 2-inch (5cm) pieces. Remove any strings from the celery, cut into 2-inch (5cm) lengths, and then into thin batons. Cut the rooty part off of the enoki mushrooms

Step 3

Prepare the "knife-mouth chiles." Snip the chiles in half or into 3/4-inch (2cm) sections and shake out the seeds as much as possible. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok over high heat. Before the oil gets too hot, add the chiles and stir. When they begin to sizzle, add the Sichuan pepper and stir until the chiles begin to darken, then quickly remove the spices from the wok with a slotted spoon or fine-mesh strainer, letting any excess oil drain back into the wok. Turn the spices out onto a chopping board and finely chop (or pound with a mortar and pestle). Set aside until needed.

Step 4

Add the potato starch and 1 tbsp cold water to the beef and mix well to coat all the slices.

Step 5

Return the oily wok to high heat and, when it's hot, tip in the vegetables and stir-fry until hot and barely cooked, seasoning with about 4 tsp salt. Pile the vegetables in the center of a large, deep serving bowl.

Step 6

Add 3 tbsp oil to the wok and heat over medium heat. Add the chile bean paste and stir-fry gently until the oil is red and fragrant. Add the ground chiles and stir a couple of times then tip in the garlic and ginger and continue to stir-fry until they smell wonderful. Pour in the stock and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Scatter the beef slices and enoki mushrooms into the boiling liquid, nudging them so they don't stick together. When the beef is just cooked, pour the contents of the wok over the waiting vegetables.

Step 7

Rinse and dry the wok, then return to high heat and add 5 tbsp oil. Stir until the oil is sizzling hot (test the temperature by dripping some onto some scallion or vegetable offcuts in a heatproof bowl: it should produce a sudden, dramatic sizzle). When the oil is ready, quickly tip the reserved spices into the center of the serving bowl and ladle over the hot oil. Scatter over the cilantro or scallion greens and rush the bowl to the table before the sizzling stops!