Beef in Oyster Sauce

Beef in Oyster Sauce

Baby Boy is still at home since he had to go to the Doctor for his medical certificate this morning. I made him Beef in Oyster Sauce to celebrate his return to pasta at the school canteen tomorrow. Offered some to the cleaning lady who immediately declared that she would work for free for a month if I would give her the recipe.

No, I didn't take advantage of her. We all know that this dish is basic Chinese, I am not going to con her, it will be bad for my karma. Besides she had been very sweet this morning, thanking me for having respect for her, because though I had my kids sick at home, I didn't let them have the run of the house like the other Italian ladies she works for. It is true that, sick or not sick, I always tell my children to tidy up the night before the cleaning lady is due to come.

I will probably give her the recipe together with all the bottles of sauces that she will need to make the dish with. The recipe is useless without at least oyster sauce, right?

On Spaghetti and with a tofu side dish

Beef in Oyster Sauce :

The marinade :

250g Beef filet

1-2 Tsp Sugar

1 Tsp Light Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine

1/2 Tsp Sesame Oil

1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce

1 Tsp Corn starch

1/4 Tsp Baking soda

The stir-fry :

1 slice Ginger (julienned)

2 Garlic cloves (thinly sliced)

1 Carrot (sliced)

1/5 Leek (sliced)

Red Chilli (sliced)

Pepper to taste

Leftover marinade mixed with water and 1 Tsp of corn starch for thickening the sauce.

I like it when the beef is smooth and tender. Bought Scottona beef (a young cow of almost 2 years), used my chopper to tenderise the meat and then sliced and marinated it for at least an hour.

Heat the wok and add in some vegetable oil. Fry the ginger and garlic till fragrant, add in the carrots, leeks, chilli and whatever other vegetables you may wish to use.

I like my beef rare so I only add them into the wok when the vegetables are almost done. If you do not want them to stick together, blanch the beef in hot water for a few seconds before adding them to the wok. I put them into the wok directly.

Stir fry till the beef changes colour, pour in the marinade mixed with the cornstarch solution. Stir fry till the sauce thickens. Serve hot.