Chinese Black Pepper Beef
Want to add a rich flavor to your dinner? Then try black pepper beef tenderloin. The beef tenderloin is smooth, tender and chewy. The unique pungent aroma of black pepper stimulates the appetite. Preparing the ingredients is effortless. A few simple steps create a delicious delicacy.
Required raw materials and substitutes
Main ingredients
Beef tenderloin: The meat is tender and is the protagonist of the dish, providing abundant protein.
Onion: Sweet, crisp and juicy, adding flavor and texture levels to make the dish more abundant.
Accessories
Ginger: Minced to remove fishy smell and enhance fragrance, improving the aroma of the dish.
Scallion white: Cut into sections and stir-fry until fragrant, helping to release the fragrance and enrich the taste.
Butter: Adds a milky fragrance to the iron plate and gives a unique flavor.
Egg white: Makes the beef smooth and tender, maintains the moisture of the meat, and has a better taste.
Seasonings
Light soy sauce: Adds salty and fresh flavors, enhances the taste and color, and makes the beef more delicious.
Dark soy sauce: Deepens the color, making the dish attractive in color and increasing appetite.
Cooking oil: Used for stir-frying beef to make the heating even and avoid sticking to the pan.
Starch: Locks in the juice of the beef and makes the meat more tender and smooth.
Salt: Basic seasoning, highlighting the original taste of the ingredients and controlling the saltiness.
Black pepper powder: Used for marinating beef to remove fishy smell and enhance fragrance. It can also be stir-fried to enhance the taste and fragrance and enrich the taste experience.
Chili sauce: Adds spiciness to meet the taste needs of people who like spicy food and stimulates appetite.
Oyster sauce: Enhances freshness and flavor, making the taste more mellow and rich.
Red pepper flakes: Used for decoration, adding color and making the dish more attractive.
Starch water: Thickens and collects the juice, making the sauce thicker and wrapping the ingredients.
Sesame oil: Add a little to enhance fragrance, improve the aroma of the dish and leave a lasting aftertaste.
Substitutes
Onion: Leek can be used instead. It has a pungent taste and a different texture, offering a distinct flavor.
Butter: Beef tallow can be a substitute. It has a rich flavor and a thick milky aroma.
Egg white: Whole egg liquid can be a substitute. The nutritional components are similar and it also has a tenderizing effect.
Starch: Cornstarch can be a substitute. The usage effect is similar and it can lock in moisture.
Black pepper powder: White pepper powder can be a substitute. The spiciness is milder and the aroma is different.
Chili sauce: Sweet chili sauce can be a substitute. It has a combination of sweet and spicy flavors and a different taste.
Oyster sauce: Abalone sauce can be a substitute. It has a rich flavor but is more expensive.
Starch water: Lotus root starch can be a substitute. It has a fine texture and has a unique taste after thickening.
How to choose beef tenderloin?
High-quality beef tenderloin should present a uniform bright red color, with a little white fascia. The meat is firm and elastic, and the surface is slightly shiny. When pressed with a finger, there will be a rebound feeling and it will not feel sticky.
When choosing, pay attention to observing the texture of the meat. Good tenderloin has fine and uniform texture, and there are no obvious tendons in the meat. At the same time, pay attention to the smell of the meat. Fresh beef will have a light meaty fragrance and will not have an off or sour smell.
What are the skills for cutting beef tenderloin?
Beef tenderloin should be cut into strips that are 4-5 centimeters long and 0.3 centimeters thick. The specific operation is to first cut the tenderloin into slices that are 0.3 centimeters thick along the texture, and then cut the slices into uniform thin strips.
Before cutting, put the beef tenderloin in the refrigerator's refrigeration compartment for 20-30 minutes to make the meat semi-frozen. This makes it easier to cut out uniform meat strips. When cutting, keep the knife at a 45-degree angle. Press one end of the meat slice with one hand and hold the knife with the other hand to cut from the far end to the near end. The movement should be fast and stable.
Black pepper beef tenderloin requires uniform-sized meat strips so that it can be evenly marinated and stir-fried and the taste will be better. If you find that the meat strips are of different thicknesses, it is recommended to cut them again, otherwise it will affect the final cooking effect.
Which black pepper should I use?
Freshly ground black pepper is most recommended, followed by cracked black pepper, and finally black pepper powder. Freshly ground black pepper can maintain the best aroma and spiciness. The grinding degree of each black peppercorn is just right. You can feel the graininess of pepper without being too rough.
If you pursue convenience, you can choose cracked black pepper. It is recommended to buy the one with a particle size of 1-2 millimeters. When purchasing, pay attention to the packaging being sealed, the production date being fresh, and use it in time after opening to avoid getting damp and caking.
Although black pepper powder is convenient to use, its aroma is most easily lost. If there are old people or children at home who don't like the grainy feeling, you can choose black pepper powder.
INGREDIENTS
Main Ingredients
-
·400g beef tenderloin
-
·250g onion
Accessories
-
·20g ginger
-
·10g green onion stalk
-
·30g butter
-
·1 egg white
Seasonings
-
·10ml light soy sauce
-
·5ml dark soy sauce
-
·10ml cooking oil
-
·10g starch
-
·3g salt
-
·13g black pepper powder
-
·10g chili sauce
-
·10g oyster sauce
-
·Appropriate amount crushed red pepper
-
·Appropriate amount water starch
-
·A little sesame oil
COOKING STEP
Step 1
Cut 400 grams of beef tenderloin into thin strips along the texture and put them in a bowl.
Step 2
Pour in 1 egg white, add 10 milliliters of light soy sauce and 5 milliliters of dark soy sauce, add 3 grams of salt and 3 grams of black pepper powder, stir evenly, add 10 grams of starch and mix well again.
Step 3
Then pour in 10 milliliters of oil, stir well and marinate for 20 minutes.
Step 4
Shred 250 grams of onion, mince 20 grams of ginger, and cut 10 grams of green onion stalk into chopped green onions and set aside.
Step 5
Pour an appropriate amount of oil into the pot and heat it up. Put in the marinated beef and stir-fry until it changes color. Take it out and drain the water for later use.
Step 6
Leave a little oil at the bottom of the pot and pour in minced ginger and chopped green onions to stir-fry until fragrant.
Step 7
Add 10 grams of black pepper powder, 10 grams of chili sauce and 10 grams of oyster sauce, stir evenly. Pour in an appropriate amount of water and stir until it boils.
Step 8
Pour in the fried beef, stir until it is evenly coated with the sauce, add an appropriate amount of water starch for thickening, and add a little sesame oil and stir. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Step 9
Preheat the iron plate and put in 30 grams of butter.
Step 10
When the butter melts, add the cut onions and spread the onions evenly on the iron plate.
Step 11
Then spread the fried beef evenly on the onions.
Step 12
Sprinkle with chopped green onions and crushed red pepper. The delicious iron plate beef can be enjoyed.
More recipes worth trying
Recipe variations
If you want to change things up for black pepper beef tenderloin, you can try these methods:
Add colored peppers: When stir-frying beef, add an appropriate amount of red, yellow, and green colored pepper strips. This not only makes the dish more colorful and bright, but also the sweet taste of colored peppers complements black pepper beef tenderloin well, adding more refreshing flavors and vitamins.
Add pineapple: Put small pieces of pineapple into the pot and stir-fry with beef for a while. The sweet and sour fruity aroma of pineapple can effectively neutralize the greasiness of beef, giving this dish a unique tropical flavor and making the taste more rich and appetizing.
Add cheese: After spreading beef and onions on the iron plate, sprinkle a layer of mozzarella cheese and put it in a preheated oven and bake for a while until the cheese melts and is slightly colored. The milky aroma and stringy effect of cheese can add a rich Western flavor and rich taste levels to this black pepper beef tenderloin, and is deeply loved by cheese lovers.
Add crushed nuts: Sprinkle some crushed almonds or cashews before serving. The crispy taste of nuts forms a sharp contrast with the tender beef and soft onions. At the same time, nuts are rich in high-quality oils and nutrients, adding more flavors and nutrition to the dish and making the whole dish more rich in taste and chewy.
FAQs:
Quick stir-frying with high heat can quickly seal the surface of the meat and lock the meat juice inside, keeping the meat tender. If stir-fried slowly with low heat, the meat juice will be lost, resulting in tough and hard meat.
During specific operations, preheat the pan until it smokes. After pouring oil, wait for the oil temperature to rise until it just starts to smoke before adding the meat. Quickly stir-fry until it is seven-tenths cooked. When seeing the color of the meat change from red to brown, immediately take it out.
Finally, when reducing the sauce and thickening, turn to medium-low heat. Only in this way will the aroma of seasonings not be destroyed and the soup will evenly coat the meat. If high heat is used all the time, seasonings are easy to burn and the soup will be reduced too quickly.
There is a simple way to judge whether the iron plate is preheated properly: Drop a drop of water on the iron plate. If the water droplet immediately disperses into small bead-like shapes and jumps quickly, it means the temperature is sufficient. If the water droplet evaporates instantly, it means the temperature is too high. If the water droplet is slowly pushed away, it means the temperature is not enough yet.
Too low a temperature of the iron plate will cause food to stick to the plate. Too high a temperature will easily cause scorching. Especially for side dishes like onions, they will be quickly burned. On a small household iron plate, preheating on medium heat is safer and more controllable. High heat can easily make the iron plate too hot.
A cast iron pot has good heat storage performance and can achieve a continuous high temperature effect similar to that of an iron plate. However, it is relatively expensive and requires regular maintenance. If there is only an ordinary non-stick pan at home, it can also be used. It is recommended to control the heat at medium heat to avoid damaging the coating at the bottom of the pan.
When adding black pepper, it can be added in two times: put 3-5 grams when marinating and 10 grams when stir-frying. This can make the fragrance of black pepper more distinct. If you want a more prominent taste, it is recommended to choose freshly ground black pepper, which will have a stronger aroma.
REVIEWS
