Author Notes
This is a dish I had many times in Beijing, and learned to make it from the mother of a good friend there. In Northern China, lamb is used as often as beef is here, and sellers of lamb kabobs can be found on many street corners and alleyways in Beijing, grilling their savory fare. When I returned home it took me about a year before I started having bad cravings for this simple but tasty dish, and found a version of it in Celia Chang's "The Seventh Daughter" and altered it to represent the Beijing style version I knew. Here in the States you may not always find the paper thin sliced lamb you want, so just get a round or flank steak, freeze it almost all of the way, then use a very, very sharp knife to slice the pieces off. I found my thin sliced lamb at Chinatown Market in Savannah and it was just as I remembered it! Other than the slicing, it's a pretty quick dish, very savory with the mellow taste of Shaoxing wine, a clear, pale yellow cooking wine used in many sauces and dishes in China. I'm particular about soy sauce--the first ingredient past water should be SOY BEANS, not caramel color or soy protein. Of course Beijing had many good brands, but here, Kikkoman will do just fine. —BeijingRose
Ingredients
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1 1/2 pounds
lamb OR beef, flank or round steak, sliced very thin
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3 tablespoons
Oyster Sauce
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3 tablespoons
REAL brewed soysauce
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2 tablespoons
Peanut oil (for the best flavor)
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1 tablespoon
white pepper or red chili pepper (whichever you like best)
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3 bunches
green onions, green & white parts chopped and separated into 2 piles
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1 bunch
fresh Cilantro (chopped, stems removed)
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1 teaspoon
sesame seed oil
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2 tablespoons
toasted sesame seeds for garnish if you wish
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Peanut oil for frying
Directions
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Mix the oyster sauce, sesame oil, pepper and soy sauce and pour over the sliced meat—mix it well in the bowl until all pieces are thoroughly covered, then marinate not less than 2 hours, or overnight.
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Chop the white parts of the green onions to stir-fry with the meat. Heat the wok with about ¼ cup of peanut oil until a drop of water dances on the surface. Pour in your marinated meat and the green onions. Stir fry briskly until meat is done and tender, about 10 minutes
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When the meat is done, scoop it up into a bowl with cooked sticky rice (also called ‘sweet rice’ or ‘sushi rice’), top with the other half of the green onions (chopped or shredded) and the chopped cilantro.
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Serve with extra soy sauce on the side, a dish of green vegetables or a salad, and mantou (steamed buns). This makes a wonderful autumn or winter night dish and goes well with cold beer (Tsingdao or Yanjing) or a dry red wine.
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