Ingredients
Scale
Beef
- 500 g (1.1 lb) velveted beef, thinly sliced
- ½ cup cornstarch
- Oil, for deep frying
Sauce
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 60 ml (2 fl oz) pineapple juice
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp white sugar
Vegetables
- 1 red capsicum, diced into 2 to 3 cm pieces
- ½ brown onion, cut into 3 to 4 cm pieces
Instructions
- Add the velveted beef to a large bowl with the cornstarch.
- Mix well until each piece of beef is evenly coated in cornstarch.
- Heat the oil in a wok to 180C (356F).
- Carefully add the beef in batches, separating the pieces so they do not stick together.
- Fry until golden brown and crispy, then remove from the oil and drain well.
- In a clean wok, add the hoisin sauce, sweet chilli sauce, pineapple juice, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and white sugar.
- Stir well and let the sauce simmer until slightly thickened.
- Add the red capsicum and brown onion. Stir fry until the vegetables are coated in the sauce and slightly softened.
- Return the crispy beef to the wok and toss quickly until everything is evenly coated.
- Serve immediately, while the beef is still hot and crispy.
Notes
- Pat the beef dry before it meets the cornstarch. Wet beef makes a paste, and paste fries into a soft gummy shell instead of a crisp one.
- Reduce the sauce on its own before the vegetables go in. It thickens by evaporation, not by a cornstarch slurry.
- The beef goes in last and needs only fifteen to twenty seconds of tossing. Have the serving plate ready before it goes back into the wok.
- Do not cover the finished dish. Trapped steam softens the crust within a couple of minutes.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stir Fry
- Cuisine: Chinese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving