Restaurant Style Ginger Beef

Tips for Making Restaurant-Style Ginger Beef

1.To make it extra crispy, deep-fry the beef twice. This technique is often used in restaurants: staff prepare a batch of ginger beef and set it aside. When a customer places an order, a portion is deep-fried again.
2.To make the ginger beef extra tender, use only cornstarch for the batter (instead of half cornstarch and half flour).
3.Don't put all of the meat in the wok at once - that will lower the wok temperature. Start with adding about 1/4 of the meat mixture.
Ginger Beef Recipe
4.Mix the batter thoroughly. Test with chopsticks or a wooden spoon - it should just drop without sticking.

Ingredients:
1 pound beef (rouladen)
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
3 hot chili peppers
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sesame oil

Marinade:

2 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp cooking wine
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp ginger juice
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 Tbsp hot chili oil (optional)

Sauce:

1 Tbsp wine
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp vinegar
4 Tbsp sugar (can substitute brown sugar or honey, if desired)
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp water
chili oil or chili powder to taste

4 to 5 cups oil for deep-frying

Directions:

1. Cut beef into matchstick strips, cutting along the grain. (The meat is easier to cut if it is partially frozen).
2. To make ginger juice for marinade, peel and grate ginger. Squeeze out juice.
3. Mix four marinade ingredients. Add to beef and marinate for 30 minutes.
4. Begin preparing vegetables. Cut carrots, celery, and pepper into thin strips. Mince garlic. For ginger, use the leftover minced ginger from the preparation of ginger juice.
5. Mix the sauce ingredients. Set aside.
6. Beat the egg white and add water. Add flour and cornstarch. Mix the batter thoroughly. Drop the batter into the marinated meat. Heat wok. When heated, add 3 - 5 cups of oil. When the oil is ready, add about 1/4 of the meat/batter mixture. Deep-fry the beef until golden brown. Remove and set aside. Let oil come back to original temperature and add more meat.
7. When meat is cooked, clean the wok. Heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. When oil is ready, add the vegetables and begin stir-frying. Pour in the sauce and let come to a boil. Add the deep-fried beef. Toss quickly, and remove.
8. Sprinkle with sesame oil and serve hot.