Crispy Firecracker Beef
Turn up the heat with these deep fried crispy strips of rump steak in a sticky gochujang based firecracker sauce
Ingredients
For the Firecracker Sauce
For the Beef
Method
Whisk the egg in a bowl that large enough to fit the beef strips, then add 1 tbsp of light soy sauce, 1 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp of sesame oil. Give it a stir then add your beef strips to the sauce, ensuring they are fully coated.
Add 200g (1.5 cups) of cornflour/cornstarch to a separate bowl, then add your beef strips and mix together with your hands until the strips are fully coated and no longer stick to each other.
Fill a large wok or deep pan about 1/3 of the way up with oil. You're aiming for around 3-4 inches (5 cm) depth, but don't fill the pan over halfway. Then heat the oil over a high heat.
Check the oil is ready by placing the tip of a bamboo skewer in the oil, if it fizzes the oil is hot enough to fry the beef. Fry the beef for a few minutes until crispy then remove from the pan and set aside; you will need to do this in batches to avoid overfilling your wok.
If you're using a wok, carefully discard the oil and give and wipe with some paper towels so you can cook your sauce.
Now for the firecracker sauce: In a small bowl or jug, mix together 3 tbsp of gochujang, 1 tbsp of rice vinegar, 2 tbsp of dark soy sauce, 2 tbsp of hone and one tsp of sesame oil. Then crush or grate in 2 cloves of garlic and some finely chopped or grated ginger.
Heat the wok until slightly smoking then pour in your firecracker sauce and allow to bubble at the edges for a few seconds. Then add your crispy beef strips and mix everything together, ensuring to coat all the strips of beef in the sauce.
Once fully coated, turn off the heat and serve with rice or noodles. I like to sprinkle some strips of spring onions over the top of mine.
How to Cook Crispy Firecracker Beef
This crispy firecracker beef uses strips of rump steak coated in cornflour/cornstarch then deep fried to get the crispy coating. It's this coating that allows the sticky firecracker sauce to stick to the beef for maximum heat and flavour. This quantity will serve around 3 people for a main meal with a single side such as rice or noodles. However, if you're eating this alongside a few dishes then this will be enough for 4 people. The recipe does scale up quite easily, but remember the beef needs to be cooked in batches, so it will take a little longer to cook if you're using more beef.
Whisk the egg and combine with the light soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil in a bowl.
Add the strips of rump steak to the bowl ensuring all the beef is well coated in the egg, soy sauce mixture.
Add the cornflour/cornstarch to a separate bowl, then take your rump steak strips and coat them with the cornflour/cornstarch. They may stick together at first, but will separate when properly coated.
Fill a wok or deep pan up to 1/3 of the way with vegetable oil, it should be around 3-4 inches deep but if your pan is smaller don't fill it over half way. Heat the oil over a high heat, you can check when your oil is ready by placing a bamboo skewer (or a small piece of potato) into the oil, if it fizzes it's ready. Once the oil is hot, fry the beef for a few minutes until crispy. You will need to do this in batches to avoid overfilling the pan.
Remove the beef with a slotted spoon and set aside. Continue to fry the beef in batches until all of it is cooked then carefully discard the oil and give the wok a wipe with some kitchen towels to remove any remaining crispy bits.
Mix together all the ingredients for the firecracker sauce in a small bowl, then heat your now clean wok.
Once your wok is slightly smoking, pour in the firecracker sauce and allow to bubble around the edges for a few seconds, then add your beef and stir (or give your wok a shake) to coat the beef in the sauce and you're done!
What is Gochujung?
Gochujang is a hot, slightly sweet Korean chilli paste made with fermented soybeans, glutinous rice - the type used for sticky rice - and a good amount of red chilli. It's becoming much more popular across the west and you can likely find it in your local grocery stores. It will also be readily available at specialist Asian food stores or online. If you can't find any, you can substitute it for sriracha or any other hot chilli sauce, but the flavour will be different.
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