Monday 18 March 2013

Tomato Beef


This recipe comes from Chinese Cooking for Dummies by Chef Martin Yan. Hah! Hah! Hah! Why do I need a dummies series for Chinese cooking? Well, that's because the food that I grew up with is Nyonya and Malay and some Indian. I only get to eat authentic Chinese food when I dine at the restaurant. As I mentioned in this post, I wanted to get in touch with my roots. I appreciate good Chinese food but sadly, I don't know how to cook most of the dishes.



One of the recipes that caught my eye was Tomato Beef. At first I thought it was a stew but upon reading I realized that it is a stir fry dish with a tomato based gravy. I have ear marked the recipe for about 3 years now but never got round to trying it. That is classic Phong Hong. Lack of motivation to try new recipes. And thanks to Little Thumbs Up, I am finally cooking this dish.

I have never stir fried beef before and the only way I cooked beef previously was by stewing or curry. So I was a bit nervous. I knew that I would have to buy a cut that is meant for stir frying. The recipe calls for tri-tip or New York steak (I have no idea what that is) and upon checking the beef section at Aeon, I settled for a rump steak.




And of course, another important ingredient is a medium sized ripe tomato. I found some big ripe tomatoes and put that into my trolley. I also got myself a green pepper. All the other ingredients for the sauce were already available at home.



I noted that there are no onions, garlic or ginger in the recipe. I thought it was rather strange and I could have added  those into the dish but I decided to trust Chef Martin Yan and follow the recipe as is. The sauce ingredients are chicken broth, tomato ketchup, hoisin sauce, brown sugar and chilli garlic sauce. 



There were two ingredients that I didn't have which is chicken broth and chilli garlic sauce. So I just used water and chilli bean paste (toban djan). This dish is very easy to cook - just stir fry the marinated beef, toss in the green peppers and tomatoes followed by the sauce.

To my relief, the beef was tender and I loved the flavor of the sauce. However, in my future attempt I will include ginger, garlic and onions. Not that there is anything wrong with the original recipe, but I feel that the addition of ginger, garlic and onions will enhance the flavors of this dish. I give this dish my thumbs up and I will definitely cook it again.











Tomato Beef
Recipe Source : Chinese Cooking for Dummies by Chef Martin Yan (page 191)
(My adaptations are in red)

Ingredients :
- 3/4 lbs (about 340g) beef (tri-tip or New York steak), cut into 1/2 inch cubes (I used 420g rump steak and thinly sliced)
- 2 tablespoons oyster-flavored sauce
- 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
- 1/3 cup chicken broth (I used water)
- 3 tablespoons ketchup(I used 4 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar (I used 1 teaspoon)
- 1 teaspoon chilli garlic sauce (I used chilli bean paste)
- 1.5 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper (1 inch pieces)
- 1 medium ripe tomato, cut into 8 wedges and then halved

Method :
1. To make the marinade, combine the oyster-flavoured sauce and rice wine in a bowl.
2. Add beef and stir to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes.
3. To make the sauce, combine chicken broth, ketchup, hoisin sauce, brown sugar and chilli garlic sauce in a bowl.
4. Place a wok over high heat until hot.
5. Add oil, swirling to coat the sides.
6. Add the beef and stir fry until no longer pink, about 1.5 to 2 minutes.
7. Add the bell pepper and tomato; stir fry for 1 minute.
8. Add the sauce and bring to a boil.
9. When sauce is slightly thick, dish out and serve immediately.






This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids.

43 comments:

  1. Hi Phong Hong,

    I remember watching the happy-looking Martin Yan chopping stuff very quickly on TV when I was a little girl... and when you said that you cooked this dish with MY's recipe, I wonder if you are like him, chopping the tomatoes very quick :D

    Zoe

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    1. Zoe, if I tried Martin Yan's stunt I will lose my fingers hah! hah!

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  2. this dish looks yummy.I feel that it would be much better if you use alot of ginger, garlic and either onion or plenty of spring onion.it will give a better taste .This is how I feel.To cook this dish it's better to fry using your cast iron frying pan.I hope you don't mind me tell you this .Keep on cooking Chinese food.The next time when I go back no need to go to restaurant to eat can eat in your house

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    1. EE, I should have trusted my instincts and put ginger and garlic. Ginger would have taken away the strong beefy smell. Will cook again.

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  3. Wow, a mouthwatering dish!!!!!You make me feel hungry early in the morning :)

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    1. Esther, it is a good dish but if you try this make sure you put ginger and garlic :)

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  4. I grew up watching Martin Yan hee hee... this dish looks so mouthwatering and tangy... beef and tomatoes definitely go well together.

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    1. Mich, I agree! Martin Yan is rather entertaining too.

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  5. Tomato beef? I have never heard of this dish before but thanks for enlightening me! It sure looks very appetizing and delicious to me because I am a tomato lover.

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    1. Mel, this dish is quite good but make sure you use ripe tomatoes for better flavour.

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  6. Phong Hong,
    Me too..like Mich..grew up watching Martin Yan... 'Yan Can Cook'!!
    Your tomato beef is a very mouthwatering dish!!
    I can eat two bowls of rice with this yummy dish :p

    Thanks for sharing this in LTU.
    mui


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    1. mui mui, the gravy is delicious to put on the rice. Thanks to your tomato theme, I made myself cook this hee..hee...

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  7. This dish look very appetizing, sure need a lot of rice to go with it..

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    1. Sonia, must cook extra rice if you cook this beef dish. I guarantee your rice pot will be empty!

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  8. I remebered watching Martin Yan on tv too when i was growing up, mum loved his series and his funny antics. The recipe sure looks like its been americanised..:p yes, i agree that adding garlic and onions would enhance the flavours.

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    1. Esther, I also love watching Martin Yan's show. He is very entertaining. I love this dish but will make adjustments when I next cook it.

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  9. Hi Phong Hong,
    I don't eat beef, but I think that this would be great with pork too! I'm like you, I am on a Chinese Cooking mode for the past few months, bought a few books already, and already tried some yummy recipes, lots of dishes I've made, not posted in my blog yet! And you are right about the ginger, garlic and onions, these wonderful ingredients really add flavours to a dish!

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    1. Joyce, it will go well with pork yum! yum! I shall look forwards to your Chinese dishes, I could learn a thing or two!

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  10. A bowl of steaming hot rice is all it takes to make a good meal out of this...yummeh!

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  11. Save for our family forays to House Of Eng, Martin Yang was my only real instruction as to how Chinese food was supposed to be. The tomatoes and beef look perfect! A word of advice - Although the rump cup turned out tender for you, it can be iffy getting a tender cut. I know Beef Knuckle is probably more readily available Halal cut of beef in Malaysia and would work better all around for any stir fry dishes. (It's generally a more tender muscle)

    I'm not sure I'd add any additional spices to the dish. While garlic and ginger are nice, sometimes you just want to relish in the natural flavors of the ingredients - and tomatoes are such a bright ingredient!

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    1. Toby, thanks for the advice! I will look out for that cut. I still think adding ginger and garlic will add more zing but I haven't tried that yet :)

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  12. Hi PH! I agree with you that adding ginger, garlic and onion would enhance the flavour!

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    1. Alvin, I guess there three ingredients are a must in Chinese cooking!

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  13. hello Phong Hong, I lompat masuk sini from Annie's blog...
    nice blog you have...your tomato beef tu buat my saliva cair and terus menitis-nitis..
    so hungry now...feel like to grab it a slice and nyum nyum nyummeh!

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    1. Hi Queenie! Selamat datang! You mesti cuba masak resipi ini tapi I rasa lebih enak kalau letak halia, bawang putih dan bawang besar.

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  14. Phong Hong, we are such a great supporter to this LTU! I don't eat beef, so can I have the rest please?

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    1. Jessie, you can have the nice juicy tomatoes! I try to take part in blog events and support my friends. Now scratching my head on what to do with corn :)

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  15. Hi Phong Hong, I just makan lunch but then see your tomato beef I'm hungry again. Pass some over here leyyy.... I don't mind help you wash dishes and clean your kitchen. LOL

    Have a nice day.

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    1. Hahaha PH, I too can help wash your dishes and clean your kitchen if you can make me mutton+tomato coz I don't eat beef :-)

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    2. Amelia, you can wash the kitchen too hah! hah! Now don't want to come already :D

      Sri, I must try the mutton version lah! But I think mutton is better with curry. My favourite!

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  16. I met Martin Yan last year and his cutting/chopping skills is so damn impressive. I dunno how he can cut like tht and still make jokes. Just a suggestion, u can try stir fried beef dishes using Wagyu beef from Jusco, no need to get those expensive cuts but something like round steak (one of the cheaper cuts) is ok cos Wagyu has good marbling so the meat will be more tender once u cook it. And NY steak is just another name for striploin.

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    1. Yen, thanks for the suggestion! I am so blur when it comes to beef cuts. Will look out for those cuts you suggested and will try some more beef recipes.

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  17. I thought the combi sounds strange too, but I trust u & Chef Yan. Hahaha! I'd attended his show when he was in S'pore & had such a wonderful time with him. I wanna eat this!!

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    1. Shirley, Chef Yan is very entertaining and full of humour. You are lucky to see his show live!

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  18. That's so cute that you bought that book. When I first started I would have bought a dummies for Mexican cooking, hehe. It's great that you are learning to cook Chinese for yourself. I had no idea tomatoes were used in that cuisine, but glad to see your recipe because they are one of my favorite ingredients. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Nancy, it's kinda strange for a Chinese not to know how to cook Chinese! I am learning and am keen to share my journey here.

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  19. hi phong hong, with so many blogs around, i think you will also get to learn a lot of chinese cooking from all of them. The sauce do sound yummy to me :)

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    1. Lena, the sauce is very good. I think we can also make this with pork. But must add ginger and garlic lah. More kick that way :)

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  20. Tried pork before, never tried beef. Looks good!!!

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    1. Arthur, if you like beef then you will like this dish :)

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