Week 5 Gordon's training video: How to prepare and stir fry beef

Date Published:

20/10/2008

Stir-frying is a cooking technique that requires cooking over a high heat, while constantly tossing the ingredients for even cooking. In order to cook your beef to perfection it essential to cut it into thin strips. Here Gordon shows how any one can enter the world of oriental cooking with ease

The traditional way of cooking Chinese food is by using a wok, the Chinese equivalent of our frying pan.

It is designed with high sides and a round bottom to allow food to be stirred and tossed easily.

Beef for stir-fry recipes should be cut into small strips and should have very little fat, hence why we are using the fillet. You should try and cut along the grain as otherwise you'll spoil the texture and make the meat chewy.

A good trick is to cut all the beef to the same size - this ensures that the pieces cook in the same time and retain some of their juices.

When cooking with a wok, start by making sure that you get it nice and hot.

Once you place the oil in the wok, you need to swirl it around the pan, so the sides have an even coating.

Your wok is ready to start cooking when the oil is just smoking. Be patient.

You want to cook with an oil that has a high heating point such as groundnut oil. If using sesame oil, use less as this has a low heating point and burns quickly. Avoid using olive oil as the olive flavour doesn't always suit Chinese dishes.

When you drop the beef into the wok you want it to start sizzling immediately. A great sign you are 'frying' not boiling them.

'Stir frying' is the way you do the cooking: it's not really stirring, but more like tossing.

Now make sure that your beef is constantly on the move.

You need the beef to keep turning over so that oil and heat are distributed evenly; this stops the beef from burning.

Use a wooden spoon or metal spatula with a long handle. This allows you to stir the food without burning your hands.

Because of the high heat of the wok, the meat will cook in minutes. Once the steak is cooked, remove from the wok and rest.

Now you're ready to cook Gordon's stir fried beef with noodles

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