Tomato Beef, one of my all-time favorite Chinese dishes.
To quote the Cookbook:
"Thick wedges of tomato cook with oyster flavored sauce and beef that has been stir-fried with ginger to make a flavorful and delicious sauce to serve over rice. Oddly enough, this is amazingly good even when tomatoes are not in season.
Just add some rice, a salad and a nice glass of red and you'll be happy.
Gather up some soy sauce, sesame oil, rice cooking wine, cornstarch, baking soda, ginger, onion, tomatoes and beef.
If you don't have access to rice cooking wine, dry sherry or dry white wine are good substitutes.
I had a top sirloin steak so I used that, cut it into slices, then into strips. Add the strips to a bowl and sprinkle with the baking soda.
Then, mix up the soy sauce, sesame oil, cooking wine, and corn starch, and add it to the meat.
While the meat is marinating, time to make the stir-fry sauce. You'll need the ginger you sliced and some oyster sauce.
The recipe doesn't call for onion other than the scallions added at the end, but I always add about 1/4 - 1/2 an onion, thinly sliced, and stir-fry that with the slices of ginger. Add the meat, searing well then remove the meat mixture and set aside.
In the same skillet add the tomatoes, I only had cherry tomatoes so I used them, and cook until they begin to soften. I don't add the sugar the recipe calls for. Add the oyster sauce and water, cover, and cook for a couple of minutes or until the tomatoes are limp.
Add the beef and any juices that have accumulated back to the skillet, and the scallions and stir-fry for about 1 more minute.
I've also been known to add veggies to this, but honestly, I prefer it just as it is.
Enjoy!
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Tomato Beef
Ingredients
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8 ounces flank steak, well-trimmed
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons thin soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon Shao Hsing rice cooking wine
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 1/4 teaspoons sugar
5 tomatoes, about 2 pounds
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 slices ginger
3 tablespoons oyster flavored sauce
4 scallions, cut into 2-inch sections
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Directions
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Halve the flank steak with the grain into 2 strips. Cut each strip across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place slices in a shallow bowl and sprinkle with the baking soda; stir to combine. Add the soy sauce cornstarch, rice wine, sesame oil, and 1/4 teaspoon sugar. Stir to combine and set aside.
In a large pot, bring about 1 1/2 quarts of water to a boil over high heat. Add the tomatoes and cook 1 to 3 minutes, or until the tomato skins just break. Remove tomatoes with a slotted spoon and, when cool enough to handle, peel skins. Core tomatoes and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges.
Meanwhile, stir 1 teaspoon vegetable oil into the beef mixture. Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the remaining tablespoon vegetable oil and ginger, and stir-fry about 1 minute. Carefully add the beef, spreading it in the wok. Cook, undisturbed, 1 to 2 minutes, letting beef begin to brown. Then, using a metal spatula, stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes, or until beef is browned but still slightly rare. Transfer the beef to a plate and set aside.
Add the tomatoes and remaining teaspoon of sugar to wok, and stir-fry 1 minute on high heat until tomatoes begin to soften. Add the oyster sauce and 1/4 cup cold water, cover, and cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until the tomatoes are just limp. Add the beef with any juices that have accumulated on the plate, and the scallions, and stir-fry 1 minute, or until just heated through.
Serve immediately.
Serves 4 to 6 as part of a multicourse meal.
Thick wedges of tomato cook with oyster flavored sauce and beef that has been stir-fried with ginger to make a flavorful and delicious sauce to serve over rice. Oddly enough, this is amazingly good even when tomatoes are not in season.
The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen cookbook
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And that's that!