Beef Sauce (Niu Rou Jiang)
牛肉酱 · pan chinese cuisine
The recipe author recorded this after learning it from someone else, noting it is a very good formula. Adjust the bird's-eye chilies to your own taste, and pulse the ginger and garlic together in a food processor. Adding crushed peanuts won't stay crisp, but it makes the sauce fragrant and delicious; skip them if you prefer.
Hector NunezThird-generation taquero turned home cook. Nixtamal from scratch changed my life. Happy to talk tortilla technique with anyone who'll listen.Nutrition & allergens
Contains:PeanutsSesameSoyWheat
Some ingredients are not yet allergen-surveyed; this label is not exhaustive.
Per serving (4 servings)
- Energy (kcal)
- Unknown
- Protein (g)
- Unknown
- Fat (g)
- Unknown
- Carbs (g)
- Unknown
- Sodium (mg)
- Unknown
Estimated from verified ingredient data for the original formula — not lab values, and one dish is not a full meal.
beef tenderloin牛里脊肉
35.27 oz
20.0 piece
1.0 piece
as needed
onion洋葱
0.5 whole
as needed
as needed
cilantro香菜
3.53 oz
3.53 oz
2.0 piece
4.5 piece
Canola oil菜籽油
as needed
0.6 oz
0.21 oz
0.74 oz
0.11 oz
to taste
0.11 oz
0.63 oz
soybean paste (yellow soybean paste)黄豆酱
1.27 oz
Techniques you'll use
- Making scallion oil ↗
Infuse oil with scallions and stop at golden edges, before bitterness develops.
- Dry-frying (gan bian) ↗
Drive off moisture in a bare wok to concentrate flavor and chew.
- Chili-oil infusion ↗
Pour hot oil over ground chilies and spices to extract color and heat.
- Simmering (dun) ↗
Gentle low-heat cooking in liquid until flavors merge and meat softens.
Steps
- 1
Step 1
Use roughly the quantities shown in the photos. Add the bird's-eye chilies according to your own taste. I pulse the ginger and garlic together in a food processor; if you don't like crushed peanuts you can leave them out — they don't stay crisp in the sauce, but they add wonderful aroma and flavor.
✅ Done when: All ingredients are prepped as described before any frying begins.
Warm the rapeseed oil, then add the scallions, cilantro, onion, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick and fry until fragrant and golden-brown.
✅ Done when: The aromatics are fragrant and turned golden-brown in the oil.
- 3
Step 3
Dice the beef — the pieces shrink after frying, so cut them to whatever size you prefer.
✅ Done when: The beef is evenly diced to the desired size.
Fry the diced beef until its moisture is cooked off and the oil turns completely clear. Tenderloin is very tender, so don't worry about it becoming tough.
✅ Done when: The beef's moisture has cooked away and the oil in the pan is clear.
Next fry the minced ginger and garlic, the bird's-eye chilies, and the dried shiitake mushrooms until the moisture is boiled off and the oil turns clear again.
✅ Done when: The mixture's moisture has cooked off and the oil turns clear.
Add the crushed peanuts and sesame seeds, then season with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, five-spice powder, soybean paste, broad bean paste, coarsely ground chili powder, finely ground chili powder, and a suitable amount of sugar for brightness. More chili powder makes a spicy beef chili sauce, less makes a milder beef sauce; chili powder is what gives the finished sauce its glossy red color.
✅ Done when: All the seasonings are added and stirred evenly into the pan.
Keep simmering until the sauce turns a glossy red and is fragrant. Taste it, and once the seasoning is to your liking, turn off the heat.
✅ Done when: The sauce is a glossy red color and the aroma is noticeable; a taste test confirms the seasoning.
- 8
Step 8
The finished sauce shows visible large chunks of beef; the tenderloin is tender and won't be tough to chew. Let it cool completely, then pack it into oil-free, water-free glass jars — it will keep for a month.
✅ Done when: The sauce has cooled fully and shows visible large beef chunks before jarring.