Cumin Beef with Garlic Sprouts
Ingredients
- beef
- garlic sprouts
- Thai bird chilies
- cumin seeds
- cumin powder
- chili powder
- starch
- cooking wine
- light soy sauce
- dark soy sauce
- ginger
- white pepper powder
- garlic
- scallions
Instructions
- Slice the beef thinly, then cut into small pieces. Marinate with scallions, ginger, cooking wine, starch, white pepper powder, cumin powder, dark soy sauce, and light soy sauce for 30 minutes. Finely chop the Thai bird chilies. Cut garlic sprouts into small sections. Crush two cloves of garlic.
- Heat the wok with cold oil. Add beef on high heat. Wait about 10 seconds for it to set, then pour a circle of cooking wine and stir-fry for one minute until color changes. Remove and set aside. [Low-fat version]: Slice beef and marinate only with ginger, scallions, and cooking wine. Blanch in boiling water until cooked, remove and mince. Marinate with dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, and cumin powder.
- Spray oil in the wok, add minced garlic and Thai bird chilies, stir-fry until fragrant, then add garlic sprouts and cook until tender-crisp. (Same for low-fat version, just use less oil.)
- Add the cooked beef. Season with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, cumin powder, cumin seeds, chili powder, salt, and chicken bouillon or MSG. Stir-fry for a while. Note: use small amounts as most seasonings contain salt. There may be some liquid at first; keep stir-frying until the oil becomes clear. [Low-fat version]: Add the blanched and marinated beef to the stir-fried garlic sprouts and chilies. Season with cooking wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, cumin powder, cumin seeds, chili powder, salt, and chicken bouillon or MSG. Stir-fry for a shorter time since the beef was not oil-fried and will become tough if overcooked.
- I made both versions, honestly the low-fat version tastes better to me. The regular version always has a slight beefy taste—not the good beef flavor, but something else. Maybe the low-fat version had the blood removed during blanching. For the regular version, I did not strain the juices after stir-frying the beef. I will try straining next time to see if it improves.
