Kenny Chan Kai-tak · Hong Kong

Sichuan Boiled Beef (Shui Zhu Niu Rou) with Prime Ribeye

Time1 h
LevelMedium
Meat and gameChinese
Sichuan Boiled Beef (Shui Zhu Niu Rou) with Prime Ribeye

U.S. Prime ribeye slices cooked in a spicy Sichuan chili broth with bean sprouts, leek, and aromatic spices for a bold and flavorful experience.

This dish is a fiery masterpiece that captures the soul of Sichuan cuisine: tender slices of ribeye poached in a bold, spicy chili broth. The combination of Sichuan peppercorns, bean sprouts, and aromatic spices creates an unforgettable culinary experience.

Originally shared by Sichuan chef Kenny Chan Kai-Tak, this recipe is not for the faint-hearted. It offers the distinct tingling heat Sichuan cuisine is famous for, balanced by the richness of prime ribeye and the depth of a hearty broth. While the heat might make you sweat, the dish’s complexity and flavor will keep you coming back for more.

Adapted for a home kitchen by our editors from Kenny Chan Kai-tak's restaurant recipe. This is the chef's version of Sichuan 'water-boiled' beef: thin slices of ribeye coated in cornstarch, poached in a chilli bean broth and finished with very hot oil poured over garlic, paprika and Sichuan pepper. The home version doubles it to four servings, swaps the restaurant's mala sauce for supermarket chilli crisp, and uses less finishing oil, heated short of smoking, so the final sizzle is safer in a home kitchen. Not yet tested from this page.

Ingredients

Method

  1. Put the ribeye in the freezer for 30 minutes, until firm but not frozen through.
  2. Slice the beef across the grain as thinly as you can, about 3 mm.
  3. Toss the slices with the salt, 3 tbsp of cornstarch and 1 tbsp of water until every slice is thinly coated.
  4. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and blanch the bean sprouts for 1 minute.
  5. Drain the sprouts and divide them between the four bowls.
  6. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the wok over medium-low heat and fry the chilli bean paste and chilli crisp for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until the oil turns red and smells fragrant.
  7. Add the minced garlic, ginger and green onion and stir for 30 seconds.
  8. Pour in the stock, Shaoxing wine and dark soy sauce and bring to the boil.
  9. Mix the cornstarch for thickening with the cold water.
  10. Stir the mixture into the boiling broth and simmer for 1 minute, until it turns glossy and slightly thick.
  11. Lower the heat until the broth barely bubbles.
  12. Add the beef slices one at a time, separating them with chopsticks so they don't stick together.
  13. Poach for 1–2 minutes, until the slices have lost their raw red colour and feel tender.
  14. Ladle the beef and broth over the bean sprouts.
  15. Scatter the leek, paprika, Sichuan pepper and the remaining minced garlic over each bowl.
  16. Heat the 120 ml of oil in the small saucepan to 180–190°C (355–375°F): it should shimmer, and a slice of leek dropped in should sizzle hard, but it must not smoke.
  17. Stand back and pour the hot oil carefully over the spices in each bowl.
  18. Serve at once with steamed rice.
What we changed for home
  • Mala sauce replaced with chilli crisp or Sichuan chilli oil Restaurant mala sauce is a house blend of chilli, Sichuan pepper and spices in oil; jarred chilli crisp, sold in most supermarkets, brings the same heat, tingle and crunch.
  • Doubanjiang can be any Sichuan chilli bean paste, including the 'chilli bean sauce' (toban djan) in supermarket Asian aisles Pixian doubanjiang is the classic but is found mostly in Asian grocers; chilli bean sauce is the same fermented broad bean and chilli paste.
  • Hua Diao wine replaced with Shaoxing wine or dry sherry Hua Diao is an aged grade of Shaoxing rice wine; ordinary Shaoxing is easier to buy, and dry sherry is the usual stand-in.
  • Finishing oil cut from 300 g for two to 120 ml for four and heated to 180–190°C (355–375°F), not smoking The oil only has to sizzle the spices on top. A smaller amount below smoking point is much safer to pour at home and leaves less oil in the bowl.
  • 1.4 litres of low-sodium beef stock for four The original gives '3 cups (895 g)', and the two figures don't match: 3 cups is about 710 ml. We follow the cup measure. Low-sodium stock stops the broth getting too salty with the bean paste, chilli crisp and soy.
  • Beef firmed in the freezer for 30 minutes before slicing, or bought ready-sliced Partly frozen meat is far easier to cut into 3 mm slices; Asian grocers sell ribeye sliced for hot pot.
  • A tablespoon of water added to the cornstarch coating Dry cornstarch on damp slices clumps; a little water gives a thin, even coat that keeps the beef silky.

The dish in the photograph was cooked by the restaurant for this story. Photo: Oleksandr Slyadnyev.

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