As I may have mentioned here before, I love the freedom that my current online classes give me. My cooking lessons are very student driven and all about improving cooking skills and confidence in the kitchen. At the end of each 2 hour lesson I ask my students what they would like me to teach them the following week. This time one of my students challenged me to recreate their favourite takeout dish, so they could make it at home.

Crispy Chilli Beef is a Chinese takeout favourite in the UK. Its combination of crispy bite, and a spicy, sour, and syrupy sauce is popular among more western taste buds, but it’s safe to say this is certainly a Chinese cuisine classic.

Crispy Chilli Beef with Egg fried Rice ©Kevin Ashton2024
Ingredients (serves 2-3)
2 sirloin steaks 454 grams cut into thin strips
1 large egg
4 Tbsp  level cornflour (cornstarch)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
4 ½ tbsp sunflower oil
80g onion, sliced thinly
13g finely chopped ginger
15g garlic cloves finely chopped
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp dark soy sauce
2 Tbsp tomato puree
1 Tbsp caster sugar
1 Tbsp tomato ketchup
4 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce
120 g cooked white rice
1 large egg beaten (for rice)
150g carrots sliced thinly
150g cabbage slice thinly
¼ teaspoon Chilli flakes

1. 1. Place the steak strips in a bowl and add the egg. Mix together to thoroughly coat the steak in the egg.
   2. Add the cornflour, salt, pepper and mix well. It will be a sticky mixture. Reserve in the fridge while you make the sauce.
   3. Heat ½ TBsp oil in a non-stick saucepan and cook the sliced onion on a medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring from time to time and turn the heat to low.
   4. Now add the dark soy, rice vinegar, ketchup, tomato puree, garlic, ginger, sweet chilli sauce, caster sugar and cook on a low heat to bring the flavours together, then turn the heat off.
   5. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a wok and stir fry the carrots, keep them moving to avoid getting brown. Once the carrots have begun to soften add the cabbage and chilli flakes. Turn the heat down to low and add the rice and beaten egg. Stir until the egg is cooked then remove from the heat until needed.
   6. Heat 3 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan at a high heat until very hot.
   7. You will probably need to work in 2-3 batches, so when the oil is hot, add the beef – a strip at a time – and spread it out. Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.
   8. Fry the steak until dark brown and crispy. Try not to move the meat around too much as this reduces the amount of crispiness you get. It generally takes about 5 or 6 minutes to crisp up the beef, with about 3 or 4 stirs during that time.
   9. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the beef from the pan and place in a bowl lined with kitchen roll to soak up excess fat.
   10. Add a further tablespoon of oil and repeat – cooking the other batches of beef and then placing in the bowl with the first batch.
   11. When all the beef is cooked and crisp, remove any excess oil from the pan and  put all the beef back into the frying pan and pour over the sauce. Let it bubble for a couple of minutes until the sauce starts to reduce a little.
   12. Heat the refried rice and serve with the beef.

Chef’s Notes:
This recipe serves 2-3 portions depending how hungry you are.