Hunan (湖南) Beef

Today, we continued our exploration in the Chinese food culture; I am so excited to hear that today we are going to make food from the Hunan province. Why? Because it's going to be SPICY FOOD! And I LOVE chilli peppers and all things that give my tongue a little tingle. Hunan province is located in the southeast part of China. Yes, this is the second region in China that makes its food with mouthwatering, hot spices. But what makes Hunan food different than that of the Sichuan province? While Sichuan food had its distinct "numbing heat" flavour, Hunan food is sinply, yet dangerously hot. Like...really hot. The "numbing heat" will gradually grow on you, the hotness with Hunan food is that it just hits you (like no other). Yeah, be cautious! 

Hunan province is part of southeast China!

So the Chinese dish we are going to make today is Hunan Beef. If made correctly, the sauce should soak the beef and it will enhance the natural flavour of the beef itself. Soooo let's get on to it! 

First, you would want to marinate 1 lb of sliced flank steak, preferably cut into bite sized. Then you would want to marinade it in a bowl with the following ingredients: 

• 1 tbsp. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tsp cornstarch

While you wait for the beef for 15-20 minutes, you now want to start on something else! So now, chop some ginger and garlic (both about 1 tbsp. each); then you want to prepare the sauce, which contains:

• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 2 tsp. chili oil
• 1 tsp. chili sauce
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

Now the basic work has accomplished, but we're not finished yet!! When the 15 minute mark hits, heat up the wok and put some oil in it until you can hear it sizzzzzzle. Throw in the marinated beef. Once it looks pinkish, add in the chopped up ginger and garlic. When you can tell that the beef is almost completely cooked, you can add in the sauce you have prepared. Stir it for a little bit, 5 minutes, and your very own Hunan beef is done!! :) Serve it with rice and sprinkle some green onions; there you have the perfect food presentation for this dish! Now pat yourself on your back and dig in! :D

Hunan beef served with white rice.

Hmmm...now my thoughts on this dish. The flavoring was actually really delicious! But if I were to cook it again I would add some Sichuan peppers, which I guess would defeat the purpose of it being "Hunan," some dried chili peppers, and some thinly sliced celery to add colour and texture. The beef should be chopped smaller than it was because it was very difficult to chew on and separate. Another reason would probably be due to overcooking the beef as it lost its tenderness. This is definitely a dish that is considered to be a 送饭菜, meaning "eaten with rice" because it is so savory! I actually don't remember our family making this dish, but definitely something similar. Our family likes to make a beef dish called 炖牛肉 (dun niu rou); I think the western equivalent would be pot roast. So instead of putting potatoes and carrots the Western recipes tell us, the Chinese 炖牛肉 would include different types of spices, which I can't recall from the top of my head. And usually this dish is also served with rice, and sometimes with noodles as well. 

Well I hope you guys enjoyed reading or recreating this dish yourself! Tomorrow we will continue our culinary exploration through Chinese food culture! And I have great news, tomorrow we are going to learn how to cook TWO dishes! Yipppeeee:) that means, more food! Let's all try to contain our excitement! Until next time!

Evann