restaurant classics

Black pepper beef is a total takeout classic, but it’s often a sad affair thanks to tough meat, insipid sauce and soggy vegies. My spin is infinitely better, with its tender, luscious, savoury goodness. A Chinese recipe to treasure.

Chinese Black Pepper Beef

(1 lb) chuck steak (aka gravy beef)

vegetable oil

onion,

garlic cloves, roughly chopped

capsicums (bell peppers), deseeded, cut into bite-sized pieces

(5 oz) canned baby corn, drained

spring onions (scallions),

Marinade:

soy sauce

tbsp Chinese Shaoxing wine*

½ tsp bicarb soda (baking soda)

tsp cornflour (cornstarch)

Black pepper sauce:

tbsp oyster sauce

½ tsp dark soy sauce

tsp sugar

tsp black pepper

tsp white vinegar

1.Slice the steaks against the grain and at a diagonal to form wide strips that are no more than ½cm (⅛ inch) thick.

2.Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the beef and mix well with your hands to make sure each piece of beef is coated. Set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.

3.To make the stir-fry sauce, mix the ingredients in a small bowl.

4.Place a wok over high heat until hot, then add the vegetable oil. Add onion and garlic, then stir-fry for 30 seconds. Push the onion and garlic to the sides of the pan and add the beef strips into the centre. Spread the beef out as much as possible and allow to sear (don’t touch it!) for about 2 minutes. Then stir-fry and combine all the ingredients.

5.Before the beef is cooked through, add the capsicum and baby corn. Stir-fry for another 30 seconds or until the beef is just cooked. Add the black pepper stir-fry sauce and spring onion, then stir-fry for another minute or until everything is well coated and the onion is tender. Turn the heat off and transfer to a serving plate. Serve with steamed or egg fried rice.

Notes - Chinese Shaoxing wine is a type of cooking rice wine. It’s available in the Asian aisle of some major supermarkets or from an Asian grocery store. If you’d rather leave it out, simply replace with beef stock.

Enjoy the Chinese restaurant classic at home by making the umami-packed sauce from scratch – it’s seriously good! Try serving the tender beef, crunchy vegies and savoury upon savoury deliciousness as is, or with steamed rice or noodles.

Beef &amp; Black Bean Stir-fry

(1 lb) rump steak

onion, sliced

oyster sauce

spring onions (scallions), roughly chopped

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

Homemade black bean sauce:

peanut oil

garlic cloves, finely grated

ginger, peeled & finely grated

black beans*

Chinese shaoxing wine

tbsp light soy sauce

tbsp sugar

1.For the black bean sauce, heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring often for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add the black beans and stir to combine.

2.Add ½ cup of water to the wok along with the Shaoxing, soy and sugar. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the water has nearly evaporated.

3.Combine the cornflour with 2 teaspoons of water. Add to the wok and simmer for 2 minutes or until thickened. Set aside.

4.Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Then slice the steaks against the grain and on the diagonal to form wide strips that are no more than half a centimetre (3/16”) thick. Add to the marinade and mix well with your hands to make sure each piece of beef is coated. Set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.

5.Heat the vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the beef and spread out the strips as much as possible and allow to sear for about 2 minutes. Use a spatula to toss the beef around and then cook for another 2 minutes or until nicely seared. Now add the onion and stir-fry for a minute or until slightly softened. Add the capsicum and stir-fry for another 2 minutes.

6.Add 2 tablespoons of your homemade black bean sauce, oyster sauce and 3 tablespoons of water. Stir-fry until well combined. Toss through the spring onion and serve. The remainder of your homemade black bean sauce can be transferred to a sterilised jar.

Notes: – Salted fermented black beans come in vacuum packs or in cans. You can find them from an Asian grocery store or order them online.

– Chinese Shaoxing wine is a type of cooking rice wine. It’s available in the Asian aisle of some major supermarkets or from an Asian grocery store. If you’d rather leave it out, simply replace with beef stock.

Pad thai: is there a more quintessential recipe to come out of Thailand? For me, it comes down to three things: the noodles, the sauce and the technique. Accept no imitations – here, I’m teaching you how to make the real-deal, street food-style pad Thai.

Real Street Food-Style Pad Thai | Marion&#039;s Kitchen

tbsp pork lard (or vegetable

large prawns, deveined and peeled, tails intact

(3.5 oz) firm tofu, diced

eggs, lightly beaten

½ tbsp finely chopped Thai pickled radish

(7 oz) thin (no thicker than 3mm

roasted and chopped peanuts, to serve

lime wedges,

Pad Thai sauce:

(1.5 oz) pork lard (or vegetable oil)

Asian shallots, finely chopped

(0.5 oz) Thai fine, small dried shrimp*

(1 oz) palm sugar, roughly chopped

tamarind concentrate

tbsp fish sauce

(0.7 oz) white sugar

1.Place the rice stick noodles in a shallow tray and cover with room-temperature water. Leave to soak for about 30 minutes. (Check notes below for must-read info about your noodles!)

2.To make the pad Thai sauce, heat the lard in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When melted, add the shallots and dried shrimp. Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until the shallots have softened but not browned. Add the remaining ingredients. Reduce the heat to medium and gently simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce has thickened slightly.

3.Place a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add the pork lard and the prawns and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until almost cooked. Add the tofu and stir-fry for another 2 minutes until the tofu is golden. Move everything to the side of the wok or pan. Pour a scant teaspoon of the lard into the empty side of the wok. Then pour in the eggs. Let them settle and form a thin omelette, then flip and toss the egg through the rest of the ingredients.

4.Add in the pickled radish and stir-fry for another 30 seconds. Next, add in half the garlic chives, the softened noodles and half the pad Thai sauce (keep the remainder in the fridge for up to 1 week and use for your next pad Thai dinner!). Add a splash of water (about 2 tablespoons) to the pan and use tongs or chopsticks to toss and stir-fry the noodles for 3-4 minutes or until they’re tender and cooked through. Toss through the other half of the chives and the beanshoots, give everything a few more flips, then divide among serving plates. Sprinkle over the peanuts and serve with the chilli powder, lime, extra chives and bean shoots.

NOTES - It’s important your dried rice stick noodles are no thicker than the recommended 3mm size if you want to do the soak, then stir-fry method, I mention in this recipe video. If your noodles are thicker or you want a more foolproof method, soak the noodles but give them a quick cook in boiling water (about 2 minutes) before you add them to your stir-fry. Overcooking them will turn them gluggy and sticky, so keep a close watch on them!

- In Thailand, we can get very fine, small, translucent dried shrimp that require no soaking. If your dried shrimp are quite dry and thick, you’ll need to soak them in warm water for 15 minutes and finely chop them before using in this recipe.

This Singaporean fish head curry epitomes the Little Red Dot perfectly: it’s a unique blend of cuisines and flavours. This dish in particular merges South Indian curry aspects with the Chinese favoured dish of steamed fish head. It’s layered and lush and is surprisingly straightforward to make. Feel free to use fish meat instead if the head freaks you out – it will still be delicious, just not quite as spot-on as the real deal.

Fish Head Curry￼

tbsp yellow mustard seeds

tsp fenugreek seeds

Malaysian curry powder

trimmed,

curry leaves

tbsp shaved palm sugar*

salt,

tamarind

eggplant,

okra, halved lengthways

roma tomatoes, quartered

coconut milk

rice

Spice paste

dried chillies

(5 oz) shallots, coarsely chopped

garlic,

2cm (just under 1”) piece of ginger, peeled, coarsely chopped

salt

tsp turmeric

1.For the spice paste, place the dried chillies in a small bowl, then pour over enough boiling water to cover well. Stand for 30 minutes, or until softened. Drain well, using your hands to squeeze out excess water. Reserve the chilli soaking liquid. Using scissors, chop the chillies into chunks and add to the bowl of a food processor, followed by the shallots, garlic, ginger and salt. Add 2 tablespoons of the chilli-soaking liquid, then process until a coarse paste forms (use extra liquid to help your blender along if you need to). Spoon out into a small bowl, then add turmeric and mix well to combine. Set aside.

2.Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the mustard and fenugreek seeds and cook for 1–2 minutes or until the mustard seeds start to pop.

3.Add the chilli paste and cook, stirring, for 6–7 minutes or until the oil has separated out

the mixture should look a bit curdled and there will be traces of oil on the base of the pan. Add the curry powder, curry leaves and lemongrass, then stir for 1–2 minutes or until fragrant.

4.Next, in goes 2½ cups water, followed by the palm sugar, salt and tamarind. Stir to combine, then bring to a simmer. , then add the eggplant and fish head . Bring back to the simmer then cover the pan and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, or until the eggplant is tender.

5.Add the okra and tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the fish head is cooked through. Stir in the coconut milk and heat until the curry gravy just starts to simmer, then serve with steamed rice or roti.

NOTE-It's worth finding good-quality Malaysian palm sugar (gula melaka) for this recipe as it has a rich, deep flavour that is unmistakable.

Marion has created an easier-to-manage, at-home version of Singapore Chilli crab, using prawns instead. Still delicious!

Singapore-style Chilli Prawns | Marion's Kitchen

prawns

mild red chillies

red Asian shallots, roughly chopped

tbsp finely chopped ginger

tomato ketchup

tbsp soybean paste*

tsp sea salt

tbsp corn flour (cornstarch)

egg, whisked

onion

Step 1

Place the chillies, garlic, shallots and ginger in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped. Set aside for later.

Step 2

In a large bowl, combine the tomato ketchup, soybean paste, sugar, salt and 1½ cups of water. Set aside for later.

Step 3

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chilli mixture and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until the shallots are translucent and the mixture no longer tastes ‘raw’. Turn the heat up to high and then add the tomato ketchup mixture. Simmer for 2-3 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse. Then add the prawns and toss to coat. Cover with a lid and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the prawns are just cooked. Pour in the corn flour mixture and cook, stirring for another minute or until the sauce is thick. Then drizzle in the egg. Stir to mix the egg through the sauce. Transfer the prawns and the sauce to a serving plate. Top with the spring onions and serve.

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Top 5 restaurant classics recipes from across the web

The most viewed restaurant classics recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Chinese Black Pepper Beef

Beef &amp; Black Bean Stir-fry

Real Street Food-Style Pad Thai | M...

Fish Head Curry￼

Singapore-style Chilli Prawns | Mar...

The most viewed restaurant classics recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Beef & Black Bean Stir-fry

Fish Head Curry