(to serve 2-3) For the beef: 200ml sunflower or vegetable oil for deep-frying 1-2 free range eggs 5 tbsp. cornflour 200g rump or fillet steak, sliced into thin strips For the Sauce: 3 spring onions finely sliced 2.5cm piece of ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 red chilli 1 celery stick finely sliced Handful of beansprouts 1/2 red pepper finely sliced 2-3 tsp caster sugar 75ml rice vinegar & 75ml light soy sauce
Method 1. For the beef, pour the vegetable oil into a deep fat fryer or medium saucepan and heat until it reaches 180C, or when a small cube of bread dropped in turns golden in 30 seconds. 2. Whisk the eggs and cornflour in a bowl to form a batter that has the consistency of single cream (add a little water if required). 3. Coat the steak strips in the batter and fry in the oil for around 2 minutes, or until the batter turns golden brown. It may be better to fry the beef in small batches so that it doesn’t all stick together. Once ready, remove the beef from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain on a tea towel or kitchen paper. 4. Heat a frying pan or wok with a tablespoon of sunflower oil. Add the spring onions, garlic, chilli, ginger, celery and peppers and stir-fry for a couple of minutes until the vegetables start to go soft but still have some bite to them. 5. Add the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar and bring to the boil. Add the bean sprouts and the beef and mix together well until all of the beef is coated in the sauce. 6. Serve the crispy chilli beef with boiled rice, spring rolls and prawn crackers. To find out more about Tideswell School of Food and the courses on offer, visit tideswellschooloffood.co.uk or call 01298 871262.