Random Recipe: Chinese Beef from ‘The Australian Women’s Weekly Best Ever Recipes’

This recipe is taken from yet another unused second hand cook book residing on the still bent shelf purchased on an impulse (possibly because it was inexpensive).  The cookbook now faces the difficult battle of remaining in its current place of residence, or seeking another owner.

As a (very short) preamble, while it may say ‘Australian’ in the title, it is difficult to suspend my disbelief.  Any Australian worth their Vegemite knows a capsicum is a capsicum; not a pepper.  Yet the recipe clearly asks for a green pepper and a red pepper.  Australian? No!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With that quibble aside, once again I didn’t strictly adhere to the recipe. (It is pretty rare for me to do so.)  Instead of 1 red and 1 green CAPSICUM, small red, yellow and orange capsicums were used.  Chinese cooking wine was substituted for the sherry, stock was substituted for the stock cube and a few mushrooms and snow peas were added for variety.

Mixing the marinade didn’t take very long and the smell was interesting. It seemed odd to add curry powder to ‘Chinese’ beef, but it is a ‘Best Ever Recipe’.  Also while I love Bicarbonate of Soda my knowledge of it is confined to cleaning or baking, not marinade.  It fizzed as it normally does when added to liquid and made it seem a different cooking experience.

Cutting the meat to the required size: well, I didn’t.  Nor did I flatten it.  So there, cookbook!  (The uprising in the kitchen was cut short and order was restored.)

Perhaps the meat was marinaded for two hours, or slightly less.  After heating the oil in the wok, the meat and marinade were added and, for a change, it was cooked until it was well browned and then removed, not cooked for the extra 5 to 10 minutes which was once the normal manner.  It took approximately 3 batches to cook the meat.

Washing and drying the wok made me a little sad as all the marinade and meat juices and little crusty bits not on the plate were sent down the drain.  Then the extra oil was added and the vegetables placed in the wok and stirred after the liquid was added.  Once the liquid was boiling the vegetables were stirred for about 3 minutes when the meat was added.

The random meal was ready.

Professional picture of Chinese Beef from ‘The Australian Women’s Weekly Best Ever Recipes’

In the future I will endeavour to work on the presentation of these meals, but until now the meals have been photographed after they were plated (or dumped on the plate to feed the people claiming they are hungry and ‘need to eat now!’)  A little (minuscule) effort was made at the plating this time, but it still looks like a typical meal cooked by me, i.e. a little messy.

Once again I arrived at the table after the ‘taste testers’ had begun eating.  The beef looked good so once a piece was on my fork I bit into it, expecting… I wasn’t sure what to expect.

The beef was delicious!  A tang of curry powder, the sweetness of the Chinese cooking wine with the saltiness of the stock only enhanced the beef which was brown on the outside but pink and tender on the inside.  For a minute I was surprised.  I’ve failed at cooking ‘Chinese’ food most of my life (if this even is Chinese) and most of my beef stir fries have beef which is tasty but disappointing.

The only complaint received was there was not enough sauce for the rice which accompanied the beef dish.  Otherwise the vegetables were crisp but soft enough to be chewed easily and the sauce was flavourful and not overpowering.

Reject/Remain

So it seems The Australian Women’s Weekly Best Ever Recipes has a stay of execution, or even a permanent reprieve.

 

Note: Strangely enough  while I wrote this another recipe from the book ‘Chicken Marsala’ was cooking on the stove. 

Question: What did it will taste like? 

Answer: Too sweet.