Boiled Beef Slices in a Fiery Sauce - celery

Method

• Clean and remove the fibrous outer edge of the celery stalks.
• Chop each stalk into 3 or 4 sections, then slice these lengthwise into 1/2-inch sticks.
• Gently crush the scallions and chop them into 3 sections to match the celery.
• Wearing rubber gloves, snip the chiles in half, discarding as many seeds as possible.
• Remove any fat from the beef and cut it, against the grain, into thin slices about 1 inch by 2 inches (you should have about 3/4 pound of beef after trimming).
• Add a 1/4 teaspoon of salt and the Shaoxing rice wine, mix well, and leave to marinate while you prepare everything else.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok until hot but not yet smoking.
• Add the chiles and Sichuan pepper and stir-fry until they are fragrant and the chiles are just beginning to brown (take care not to burn them).
• Then immediately slide the spices out into a bowl, leaving the oil in the wok.
• When they have cooled down a little, move them onto a cutting board and chop them finely with a gentle rocking motion, using a cleaver taken in both hands or a two-handled chopper.
• Set them aside to use later.
• Return the oily wok to the stove and heat over a high flame.
• When it is smoking, add the vegetables and stir-fry for a minute or two, adding 1/4- 1/2 teaspoon of salt to taste, until they are hot and just-coked but still crunchy.
• Then pour them into the serving bowl.
• Heat another 3 tablespoons of oil in the wok over a high flame, until just beginning to smoke.
• Turn the heat down to medium, add in the chili bean paste, and stir-fry for about 30 seconds, until the oil is red and fragrant.
• Add the stock and the dark soy sauce, season to taste with salt, and return to a boil over a high flame.
• Then add the potato flour or cornstarch mixture to the beef and stir well in one direction to coat all the pieces.
• When the sauce is boiling vigorously, drop in the beef slices.
• Wait for the sauce to return a boil and then use a pair of chopsticks to gently separate the slices.
• Simmer for a minute or so, until the beef is just cooked, and then spoon it onto the waiting vegetables.
• Pour over the sauce.
• Swiftly rinse out the wok and dry it well.
• Heat another 3-4 tablespoons of oil in the wok until smoking.
• Sprinkle the chopped chiles and Sichuan pepper over the beef dish and then pour over the smoking oil, which will sizzle dramatically.
• If you move quickly, the dish will still be fizzing when you bring it to the table.
• Variations:
• Exactly the same method can be used to cook slices of pork or fish, as well as eels and exotic seafood.
• If you are using eels or whole fish, you wont need the potato flour or cornstarch that keeps the slices slippery-soft in the recipe above.
• The vegetable part of the dish can be varied at will: in Sichuan they often use Chinese leeks, lettuce stems, or bean sprouts, whether on their own, mixed together, or with celery.
• The important thing is to have something fresh and crunchy to contrast with the soft, rich meat.