It’s now the middle of the week and my chest injury seems to have finally subsided (at least for the time-being anyway) so I’m motivated to get back to doing what I loveeee to do, fitness training, because just around the corner is the Summer and I’m sure we all want to be ready for it!
This past week I’ve been looking over some recipe books from when I first began learning to cook. Although I studied some of the important techniques such as boiling, frying, making a mayonnaise (great arm workout by the way!), the main reason I gained a solid cooking foundation was from trying out these recipes and learning from them.
Starting off I had to ask what ‘simmering’ was!
We all start somewhere though and the important thing is to keep going and know that if you stick to it, you’ll either get to your destination or certainly get a lot closer than if you hadn’t tried.
I’m so glad that I didn’t give up because it’s brought me to where I am today and that’s bringing you recipes that I’ve created and love more than anything.
Today’s recipe is Crispy Chilli Beef and it’s becoming a real favourite of mine.
The sauce is tangy and sweet. It coats the crispy beef and the vegetables really well.
Although I’ve included a list of vegetables I feel will go well with the dish, feel free to adjust these according to what you might have left in the cupboard and would otherwise end up binning a day or two later!
You want to carefully cook the beef in the vegetable oil, bringing the oil up to a high enough temperature. If it starts to bubble by itself or you feel its getting out of control, the best thing to do is remove it from the heat or turn it down.
It can be dangerous cooking with oil so never over-fill the saucepan more than halfway.
Once you get the hang of it though it opens you up to a world of additional and very tasty dishes! Including this one!
When you’re cooking the beef you’re going beyond it being cooked as you’re slightly over-cooking it which is what makes it so crispy and delicious.
Enjoy
- 200g Stir-Fry Beef (sliced)
- 2 teaspoons 5-Spice Powder
- Freshly Ground Pepper
- 2 Eggs (beaten)
- 6 tablespoons Cornflour
Vegetable Oil (enough to half-fill a saucepan)
For The Sauce- 4 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
- 4 tablespoons Sweet Chilli Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Ketchup
1 Red Pepper (sliced)- 1 Carrot (cut into matchsticks)
- 2cm Fresh-Root Ginger (finely chopped)
- 1 Red Chilli (deseeded & finely chopped)
- 4 Spring Onions (chopped)
Serve with: Basmati Rice
- Season the beef with the 5-spice and ground pepper, beat the eggs in a separate bowl and place 2 plates on the worktop.
- Pour the cornflour onto one of these plates.
- Place each piece of beef in the beaten egg, then coat in the cornflour and leave on the other plate, repeat this process until all the beef has been used.
- Add the vegetable oil to a large saucepan and place on a medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes.
- Carefully lower each piece of beef into the saucepan using a slotted spoon. The beef should immediately bubble once it hits the oil, if not remove it until the oil is hot enough, cook for 12-15 minutes until brown & crispy.
- Meanwhile place a large casserole dish or frying pan onto a medium heat with some additional oil.
- Once hot add the vegetables and separately begin to cook the rice if using.
- Remove the crispy beef with the slotted spoon onto a large enough plate, and dab with kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
- Mix the sauce ingredients together and add it to the vegetables along with the crispy beef and mix well.
- Serve once the rice is cooked through.
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Oh wow this looks delicious. I love this type of food. Thanks simon
Thanks Simon. Ye we continue to use this recipe, it’s a little more effort but so worth it!