Beef in Oyster sauce

I had a taste for more Chinese food this week, so I made beef with oyster sauce on Thursday which I paired with some pickled orange pepper and carrots, thinking the vinegar would compliment the rich, salty sauce well. It did and along with some unusual salad ingredients like beets and radishes, (unusual for a Chinese accompaniment), with a soy and sesame dressing, it was somewhat of a hybrid dinner but tasty never the less. 

Whenever I think of the Chinese meals my mum or dad would cook from our trusty recipe book back home, I am always transported back to the scent of the kitchen. The overwhelming aroma would be sweet and exotic, like soy sauce or oyster, but there would always be a faint whiff of vinegar drifting through the heavier smells. I can remember the tastes so vividly too. The magic alchemy that occurs between sugar and vinegar creating that sweet and sour taste which satiates many taste buds at once. A pickle of some kind seemed just right for this meal, cutting across the rich salty flavours with a tangy edge.

I saw a recipe for pickled carrots in two of my new books. Canal House cooking volume 5 and Canning for a new generation by Liana Krissof, both excellent books, chock full of inspirational things to make. In Canal cooking they were sliced into rounds and contrasted so beautifully against some smoked haddock and dill leaves. In 'Canning', they were sliced length ways and pickled with robust Indian spices. Either way, I was eager to try a quick pickle method of one hour soaking in red wine vinegar, a little salt and sugar and some black pepper. The shredded mint as a last minute addition was due to finding some lurking in the fridge. It added a real freshness as it so often does with carrots.

Note the bamboo shoots, the love of which I proclaimed in a previous post.

Pickled carrots

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

1/2 orange pepper, sliced

1 tbsp red or white wine vinegar

1/4 tsp each of sugar and salt

a few grinds of black pepper

a few mint leaves, shredded finely

Mix everything together except the mint and let stand for one hour before serving as an accompaniment. (Sprinkle the mint over the pickle at the last moment).

Beef with oyster sauce

1 strip loin steak, about 1/2 lb, sliced thinly

1/2 onion, sliced thinly

4 spring onions (scallions) sliced finely

4 sprigs broccolini

1 handful spinach

1 tin bamboo shoots

1 tbsp oyster sauce

3/4 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp brown rice vinegar

1 tbsp peanut oil

Heat the oil over high heat in a wok or heavy based pan until really hot and add the beef.

Stir fry for a few minutes until browned, then remove to a plate lined with paper towels. Add the vegetables to the pan, adding a little more oil if necessary and fry until softened slightly. Don't overdo it, you want them to retain some bite and crispness.

Add the sauce ingredients and return the meat to the pan. Stir fry until all is mixed well and serve.