Sweet and slightly charred leeks stir fried with tender slices of beef, then coated in a luscious and savoury sauce. A sure winner for pairing with a steaming bowl of rice.

Time: 3/5

Some assembly required

Effort: 3/5

Once the wok is hot, it’s all hands on deck

Saucy Beef

Lately, I’ve been trying to upgrade my stir-fry game whenever I have the chance. My latest (partial) success with the boldly named Stir Fry Supreme got me interested in another classic stir fry combination where an aromatic allium serves as both a source of fragrance and as a vegetable component – the Leek and Beef Stir Fry, or 蔥爆牛肉 ( Chung baao ngau Yuk / Cong bao niu rou ).

The star of the show is the Japanese leek, or the Negi. These leeks lose some pungency when cooked, but turn wonderfully sweet. This stir fry pairs these sections of sweet, slightly charred leek with tender slices of beef, then coats everything in a luscious and savoury sauce. Now that’s a real winner for pairing with a nice, steaming hot bowl of rice.

As with other stir fries in a home kitchen context, it is important to acknowledge the limitations in equipment inherent to this environment. The heat output from a domestic stove top is far below that of a commercial kitchen, so portion sizes have to be correspondingly conservative.

That is, unfortunately, the home cook’s stir fry predicament – to desire quality, quantity and speed, but allowed to only pick two of the three lest s/he ends up with just one (or indeed, none).

Having said that, reasonable results will follow as long as each ingredient gets appropriately intense heat (I go over some other tips in my Pork and Peppers post, including ways to cut your vegetables to optimise for wok hei.). Just don’t expect to cook enough in a single batch to have enough left over for lunch the next day – not that leftovers are very likely, if things go well.

Dramatis Personae

Japanese leeks – 150-200g pax

Strip off any outer wilted layers. The green leafy parts can get tough, so trim off most of those. Cut the leeks into sections and rinse very well – they grow up through the ground, and all sorts of dust and debris end up between the layers. However, you also want to drain them very well after their rinse because moisture is the enemy of wok hei.

Beef – 100-150g pax

You’d want relatively lean and tender cuts, cut across the grain into strips or thin slices. Slices are more traditional, but strips will give a more substantial mouthfeel. However, I would shy away from razor-thin deli slicer hotpot beef as that shape does not give much texture and is easy to overcook. Save that type of beef for Gyudon instead.

Marinade

This will also be the base for the sauce. Soy sauce and sugar are the essential elements, although oyster sauce and Shaoxing wine are very welcome additions.

Aromatics

Any combination of garlic, ginger, shallots/onions and chilli peppers will work well. I particularly like the pop of colour that red chilli peppers give to the dish, but I would advise picking a variety without much heat as that would distract too much from the other wonderful flavours in this dish.

Sauce

Essentially the marinade, turned into a slurry with some cornstarch and a bit of water. You may adjust the volume by adding soy sauce or oyster sauce. If it tastes weak but you don’t want the final texture to be too saucy, add salt.

Executive Summary

1. Wash, slice and marinade the beef a few hours in advance. Leave it in the fridge overnight, or on the counter for 1 or 2 hours.
2. Get all your ingredients together before you begin to fry. It happens quickly, so have everything on hand.
3. Begin with the beef. Turn the heat up as high as it goes and let the pan get hot. Stir fry the beef until about halfway done and reserve. Make a slurry with the reserved marinade.
4. The heat stays high. Let the aromatics fry for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
5. The leeks follow the aromatics. Stir fry, until ideally some charring happens. If you try stir fry too much, the moisture won’t evaporate from the leeks quickly enough and charring won’t happen.
6. Return the beef to the pan along with the sauce. Toss to combine, and serve.

Play by play

Get all your ingredients together and ready. Once things get going, they happen fast. The whole affair should only last a few minutes in a proper stir fry.

Preheat your pan on the highest heat you can. Drain and stir fry your beef in a bit of oil. You can see the water pooling in my pan – high heat is essential to achieve browning before that happens. I was too ambitious with the quantity. Considering the heat output that my domestic stovetop was capable of, I was giving it twice or three times the amount of what it can actually handle. Do as I say, not as I do.

A look at when you should stop. There’s some browning on some of the pieces, but the beef has yet to cook through. Reserve it at this point, because it will get some more heat during final assembly and you want to avoid overcooking. I would have liked to brown it more but, again, my stove is not quite up to the task.

The pan stays on high heat and the aromatics go in next. Be ready for the chili fumes that the steam will throw up into the air. After the aromatics have had a half-minute head start, introduce the Negi to the party. Heat stays on high.

With the leek slightly wilted and hopefully a bit charred (there was just too much stuff in my pan for that to happen), return the beef. Add the sauce and stir to combine.

Had some cucumbers marinated in dashi on the side. I reserved some chilli peppers and cut them into slivers for a striking garnish. Grab a bowl of rice – Bon appetit, it’s time to eat!

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