How to make: Spicy Boiled Beef - 水煮牛肉

Shui-zhu (Chinese: 水煮; pinyin: shǔizhǔ) is a unique cooking method of Szechuan cuisine.  The name Shui Zhu Niu Rou literally means “water boiled beef”. The name may sound plain and mild, but in fact it’s one of the most pungent and exciting Szechuan dishes.

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Ingredients:

• Beef steak or tenderloin (cut into thin slices, against the grain)
• Fresh vegetables such as romaine lettuce, or bean sprouts, or baby bok choy 
• Potato starch or sweet potato starch, or cornstarch
• Chinese cooking wine
• Green onions
• Dried chilli pepper and chilli pepper powder
• Sichuan peppercorns
• Sichuan Spicy Broad Bean Paste (Dou-ban-jiang)
• Garlic cloves, sliced
• Ginger, sliced
• Coriander and green onion for garnishing

Steps:

1. Marinate the beef: Combine beef slices with cooking wine, soy sauce, egg, starch and water.  Coat with a thin layer of sesame oil.
2. Prepare the vegetables: Bring a large pot of water to a boiling and then blanch the vegetables for 1-2 minutes.  You may use stir-fry instead of boiling to prepare the vegetables. Place the vegetables at the bottom of the serving bowl.  
3. Fry the spicy topping: Fry dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns with a little oil, then chop them small.
4. Prepare the broth: Fry sliced ginger, sliced garlic cloves, Sichuan Spicy Broad Bean Paste and chilli pepper power until fragrant.  Then pour in water.
5. Cook the beef: Add marinated beef piece by piece.  Simmer until fully cooked (make sure not over-cooked).  Then it’s drained and put in the serving bowl on top of the vegetables. 
6. Finishing touch: Place the sliced garlic and chopped spicy topping (from step 3) over the beef.  Heat some cooking oil, pour hot oil over the garlic and spicy topping to sizzle.  Garnish with coriander and green onion.

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It may not sound very complicated, but it requires an experienced chef to make sure the beef is tender and succulent, and the flavour is perfectly right.  

Spicy Boiled Beef (水煮牛肉) is one of the most popular dishes at the House of Three Gorges. It’s super addictive so you must give it a try!