It’s their favorite item on the Chinese Takeout Menu, so we had fun tonight making it ourselves at home. For a really good tip about how to fry the beef- freeze it first!
Ingredients:
1 lb of thinly sliced sirloin steak
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp of soy sauce
1/2 cup of corn starch
Vegetable Oil for frying
1/2 cup of orange juice
2 Tbsp of rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp of fish sauce
2 Tbsp of molasses
1 tsp of sesame oil
1/2 red onion, diced
1/4 cup of orange peel, sliced thinly
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp of crushed red pepper
Cilantro
In a medium-size bowl, pour 2 Tbps of soy sauce over the beef. Add corn starch and stir. When well-coated, place each individual piece of beef on a baking sheet. (Tip: put the beef in the freezer for 45 minutes. By freezing the beef you accomplish two things: 1. the meat won’t cluster together into one big ball when you drop it into the frying oil and 2. because the beef is sliced thin, it will cook quickly. Freezing it protects the beef from over-cooking but still allows it develop a crispy coat.)
In a large pot, bring oil to a temperature of 350 degrees. Carefully drop the coated beef in the oil in small batches. The beef will only need about 1-2 minutes to cook. Remove from the oil and let drain on a paper towel. Season with salt immediately.
When all the beef has been fried, begin making the orange sauce. In a large skillet, scoop 2 Tbsps of oil from the frying pot. Saute onion and orange peel on medium heat until it starts to brown. Add garlic and red pepper. Cook for another 2 minutes. Add orange sauce and heat thoroughly. Turn off the stove. Add beef. Stir to coat. Pour over rice. Garnish with cilantro.