Uncle Tai's Hunan Beef

Beef

Uncle Tai's Hunan Beef
Ingredients:
1½ pounds flank steak
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons dry sherry or shao xing wine
1 egg white
3½ Tablespoons cornstarch
4 cups and 2 Tablespoons peanut oil
2 scallions, cut in half-inch lengths
3 Tablespoons dried orange peel
3 thin slices fresh ginger, cut in half-inch cubes
1 long thin fresh pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup chicken broth
10 dried hot red pepper pods

Preparation:
1. Slice beef into half-inch wide thin strips
2. Put the beef in a mixing bowl, add two-thirds of a cup of water blended with the bicarbonate of soda, and refrigerate it for one hour or overnight. Then rinse the beef thoroughly under cold running water, drain, and pat it dry.
3. Add the salt to the meat, one tablespoon of the wine, and the egg white, and stir until the wine is bubbly, then add one and a half tablespoons of the cornstarch and two tablespoons of the oil, and stir to blend well.
4. Combine scallions, dried orange peel, fresh ginger and fresh pepper, and set this aside.
5. Combine the remaining two tablespoons of wine, the soy sauce, sugar, and the remaining two tablespoons of cornstarch blended with three tablespoons water. Add the sesame oil and the chicken broth, and stir well.
6. Heat four cups of oil in a wok or skillet and when almost smoking, add the beef and cook about forty-five seconds, stirring constantly. Scoop out the meat, drain it well leaving the oil in the wok, and return the meat and cook for half a minute more, then drain again.
7. Clean the wok and return two tablespoons of the oil to it. Add the pepper and the scallions and stir over high heat for one minute then remove before adding the beef and cooking it for half a minute, then adding the wine mixture and stirring until it is piping hot, the meat is well-coated. Then serve in a pre-heated bowl.

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