Yang-Yang Crispy Beef 

A couple of weeks ago I was watching 

Easy Chinese: San Francisco with Ching-He Huang 

on the Cooking Channel.  

The episode was all about the flavors of Yin and Yang.

The Yin flavors were the cooling and light flavors

and the Yang flavors were the spicy and vibrant flavors in a dish.

The idea is to balance out the Yin and the Yang in a recipe.

One recipe in particular caught my interest.

Yang-Yang Crispy Beef

Beef:
Oil, for frying
1 pound sirloin steak, pounded 1/4" thick and finely sliced into strips
3 tablespoons corn starch
Sea salt

Sauce:
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
1 large orange, zested and juiced
1 bag Romaine lettuce salad, shredded
1/4 English cucumber, sliced in half, seeded and thinly sliced into half moons
1 large scallion, green part only, thinly sliced on the bias for garnish
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar


For the beef: Heat a wok or deep pan over high heat and fill halfway with oil.  Heat the oil to 350 degrees. 

Place the beef strips in a large bowl and add 2 tablespoons cornstarch.  Toss until the beef has absorbed the cornstarch.  Add the remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch right before frying and toss to coat.

Fry the beef in batches until golden, 4 to 5 minutes.  Drain on paper towels and season with sea salt.

For the sauce: Set another wok or large skillet over high heat and add the soy sauce, chili sauce, and orange juice.  Bring to a simmer and cook until it becomes thickened and coats the back of a spoon; about 1 to 2 minutes.  Toss the beef in the sauce to coat thoroughly.

Serve over a bed of the shredded lettuce and sliced cucumber that his been sprinkled with rice vinegar.  Then garnish with the scallions and orange zest.

First I fried the beef strips until crispy.

The first batch was finished.

While I worked on the beef and the sauce,

the Foodie Boyfriend prepped the salad.

As directed, he made a well in the center of the salad

to make room for the beef.

The sauce is ready to cook.

After the sauce was thickened, 

the cooked beef was tossed in the sauce.

The beef was poured over the salad.

After garnishing with the chopped scallions and orange zest,

we were ready to dig in.

The slight spiciness of the beef was nicely counteracted

by the crisp, coolness of the salad.

The Foodie Daughter, Foodie Boyfriend, and I

decided that this recipe was a keeper.