Information: Beef

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

BECAUSE OF the scarcity of cattle in China, beef cookery was never
developed as fully as pork. However, contact with the West (and the greater
availability of beef to the Chinese outside China ) had its inevitable
impact. With characteristic ingenuity, the Chinese adapted their cooking
methods and seasonings to beef cookery and made it their own. Beef is
cooked in many ways: stir-fried, deep-fried, steamed, braised, stewed,
barbecued, dry-fried or smoked.
Many cuts are used: brisket, chuck roast, chuck steak, flank steak, pot
roast, short ribs, round steak, rump roast, shank, sirloin steak, beef
tenderloin; also beef liver, heart and kidneys. Particularly favored is
beef plate, a coarse cut with strong fibers and muscles which, when
simmered slowly for hours, becomes tender and tasty. The Chinese call this
white abdomen, or hundred abdomen, of beef. COOKING TECHNIQUES AND SUITABLE
  CUTS OF BEEF:
STIR-FRYING (sliced thin, occasionally minced): chuck roast, chuck steak,
flank steak, round steak, top rump, sirloin steak, beef tenderloin and beef
liver
DEEP-FRYING (cubed or shredded): flank steak, sirloin steak, beef
tenderloin, short ribs and beef kidneys
STEAMING (sliced, slivered or minced): chuck steak, flank steak, round
steak, sirloin steak and top rump
BRAISING (whole or in chunks): brisket, chuck roast, chuck steak, eye
round, plate, pot roast, rump roast, shank and beef heart
RED-SIMMERING (whole, in chunks or cubes): chuck steak, pot roast and
shank
BARBECUING (sliced): beef tenderloin, porterhouse steak and short ribs
DRY-FRYING (sliced thin or slivered): sirloin steak
SMOKING (sliced thin): beef tenderloin
NOTE: Regardless of cut, beef should have a good red color and little fat.
It should also be firm to the touch.
TENDERIZING BEEF: Some of the tougher cuts of meat may be tenderized
before stir-frying, deep-frying, braising or red-simmering. (See "How-to
Section".)
TIPS ON STIR-FRYING: Beef should never be stir-fried by itself longer than
two minutes before the vegetables, liquid seasonings, etc., are added to
the pan. If cooked longer by itself, the beef will toughen.
The best general cut of beef for stir-frying is flank steak. Its flat
slablike structure, with a long grain running through it in only one
direction, makes it simple to handle and to cut crosswise against the
grain. Flank steak can be bought whole (it weighs about 3 pounds), then cut
lengthwise with the grain into 3 or 4 long thick strips, each of which can
be wrapped and frozen separately until needed. When ready to use, it may be
thawed slightly, and sliced easily against the grain.
TIPS ON BRAISING: Braised beef can be cooked whole or cubed, and served
hot or cold. If it's to be served hot, it may be cooked with such
vegetables as bamboo shoots, carrots, lily buds or turnips. Its sauce can
be thickened with a cornstarch paste just before serving. If it's to be
served cold, the beef should be cooked whole, cooled and refrigerated (its
gravy will jell and become aspic-like), then sliced thin just before
serving. Braised beef, when cooked anone, is often spiced with star anise,
then chilled, sliced thin and served as an hors d'oeuvre.
Braised beef dishes will keep about a week. They can also be frozen and,
when you are ready to use them, reheated without any preliminary thawing.
From <The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook>, ISBN 0-517-65870-4. Downloaded
from Glen's MM Recipe Archive, http://www.erols.com/hosey.

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