Beef with Sugar Snap Peas Recipe

Beef with Sugar Snap Peas Recipe

300g flank steak, cut into pieces 1½ inches long,

  1 inch wide and ¼ inch thick

½ large egg white (beat a whole egg white and measure out half)

2 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Pinch of salt

Pinch of ground white pepper

Vegetable oil, for passing through, plus 1 tablespoon

150g sugar snap peas, trimmed or snow peas

50g water chestnuts, sliced ⅛ inch thick

Sauce:

¼ cup chicken stock or canned chicken broth

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons oyster sauce

½ teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon rice wine or sherry

½ teaspoon ground white pepper

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 scallions, white and green parts, trimmed and sliced diagonally

  into ½-inch pieces

4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Method:

Mix the steak, egg white, rice wine, cornstarch, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons water in a medium bowl.  Add the 1 tablespoon oil and mix again.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Heat a large wok over high heat.  Add enough vegetable oil to come about 1 inch up the sides of the wok and heat it to 180°C.  Add the steak and stir gently until the meat turns light brown, about 40 seconds.  Add the sugar snap peas and water chestnuts and stir for 15 seconds.  The vegetables will be crunchy.  Using a wide wire-mesh strainer, transfer the steak, sugar snap peas and water chestnuts to a colander to drain.  Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the oil from the wok.  To begin the sauce, mix the stock, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, rice wine and white pepper in a small bowl and set it aside.  Dissolve the cornstarch in 3 tablespoons cold water in another small bowl and set it aside.  Return the wok with the oil to high heat.  Add the scallions and garlic, and stir-fry until they are fragrant, about 10 seconds.  Stir in the stock mixture, then the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil.  Add the beef, sugar snap peas and water chestnuts and stir-fry for 15 seconds, making sure that the sauce evenly coats the meat and vegetables.  Add the sesame oil and serve immediately.