Mongolian Beef (ATK)

• doses: 4-6

Ingredientes

1½ pounds beef flap meat, trimmed

½ cup cornstarch

3 cups peanut or vegetable oil

4 scallions, white parts minced, green parts cut into 1-inch pieces

2-4 dried arbol chiles (each about 2 inches long), stemmed and halved crosswise

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

3/4 cup water

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

6 tablespoons soy sauce

4 cups cooked white rice

Instruções

1. Cut beef with grain into 2/2- to 3-inch-wide strips and place strips on large plate; freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Cut strips crosswise against grain into ⅛-inch-thick slices. Toss beef with cornstarch in bowl; set aside.

2. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. Add one-third of beef and fry until browned and crispy, about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep pieces from sticking together. Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 350 and 375 degrees. Using spider skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer beef to prepared rack. Return oil to 375 degrees and repeat with remaining beef in 2 batches.

3. Transfer 1 tablespoon frying oil to 12-inch nonstick skillet and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add scallion whites, arbols, garlic, and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in water, sugar, and soy sauce and bring to vigorous simmer. Cook until sauce is thickened and reduced to 1 ¼ cups, 6 to 8 minutes.

4. Add beef and scallion greens to sauce and cook, tossing constantly, until sauce coats beef, about 1 minute. Transfer to platter and serve with rice.

Notas

Freezing the strips of beef makes them firm and allows you to slice them thin. Ask your butcher for a 1 ½ pound piece of flap meat instead of already-cut steak tips, which are more difficult to slice thin. You can substitute flank steak for flap meat in this recipe, if desired. For a spicier dish, use the larger number of arbols. If you can't find dried arbol chiles, you can substitute small dried Asian chiles or ¾ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.