Beef Oyster Sauce

This is probably a dish that can be found on nearly every Chinese takeaway menu. But the same dish from two different restaurants can be very different. Nowadays, I think anything with beef, vegetables and a dollop of oyster sauce is just called Beef Oyster Sauce.

This recipe is slightly different to the Beef with Oyster Sauce you get from the Chinese takeaway shops.

Its main ingredient is Oyster sauce, and the beef is marinated in it for at least 2 hrs (overnight is ok in the fridge). The beef is then accompanied with some finely sliced ginger sticks and spring onion blades.

Ginger is quite fibrous, so take the time to slice the ginger sticks as fine as you can. You don't want to end up unpleasantly munching down on a large chunk of ginger. Also, try not to overcook the beef. This dish should only require about 4-5mins of stir frying in the wok.

I actually prefer this served on top of a piece of lightly buttered bread or toast, than as a dish accompanied with steam rice.

Beef Oyster Sauce

• 250g Beef Skirt (sliced across the grains of the beef)
• 3 tablespoons Oyster sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon ginger (finely sliced into sticks)
• 1 Stalk Spring Onion (finely sliced diagonally)

Method:

1. Marinate the sliced up beef with the oil, oyster sauce, salt, sugar and cornflour. Add a splash of water, about a tablespoon and continue to mix. Let sit for at least 2 hours.
2. Heat some vegetable oil in a Wok, until the oil just begins to smoke, pour in the marinated beef and stir fry until the beef has started to turn pink. This should take about 2-3 mins
3. Add in the finely sliced ginger, and continue to stir fry for another minute then toss in the sliced up spring onions.
4. Stir the contents around the wok to make sure everything is mixed in together. Then turn the heat off and pour the contents on to a plate to serve immediately.