So why this recipe from what I say is one of my favourite books?
Well… basically because it is one of those recipes that is so very simple, and when you see it in the book think “mmm… that’s nothing special” but when you make it and eat it, it is something really good and a mainstay whenever I do a “banquet” style meal .
As the name suggests this dish great with a just white rice, but I also have it solely on its own when leftovers . The texture and spicy taste really make this a different dish from the normal saucy, meaty dishes you get. It can seem fiddly de-stringing the celery, but is definitely worth it and actually somewhat therapeutic I feel!
Ingredients
- 300g celery
- 3 tbsp oil – I use vegetable
- 100g minced beef – recipe says could use pork but I have always used beef
- 1 ½ tbsp. Sichuan chilli bean paste – the one thing that may not have, but easily available online and in some general supermarkets as well as specialist Chinese ones
- 1 ½ tbsp. finely chopped ginger
- Light soy sauce – to taste
- 1 tsp Chinkiang Vinegar
Method – this is way I make it, not necessarily the same steps as the recipe in the book!
The key and the most time consuming element to this dish is the preparation of the celery itself. Seems like a “faff” but makes the dish what it is.
To start with you need to de-string the celery…. I wasn’t even sure what this meant when I first looked at this recipe, but it does make a he difference to the finished dish and something I now do in other dishes to – basically it involves taking the “stringy” outside off the celery. There are a few methods, but I normally go for the using a peeler, in a similar way to peeling a carrot of similar
See De-Stringing Celery as a link if you don’t understand my explanation J
Next you need to finely chop the celery. This is best done by cutting lengthways into approx. 1cm strips, or smaller, then chop the strips into squares. It is a great dish to practice those knife skills on this one!. Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the celery for approx. 30 secs. This is to break the “rawness of the celery and really does make a difference. Also prep the ginger at this stage ready, by chopping finely.
Once this is done it is a quick dish to prepare.
Heat a wok or large frying pan over a high heat, then add the minced beef and stir fry, breaking the strands up with a spoon / ladle
Next add the chilli bean paste and cook it out, until you can see the oil turn red and smell the aroma of the oil.
Add the ginger and stir fry for a few seconds before adding the celery and continue frying, mixing all the ingredients together until all coated and mixed together until the celery is piping hot, usually about 3 or 4 mins
Finally add the little soy sauce and the vinegar as seasoning, mix through and serve.
A simple but especially tasty dish this one.
Enjoy!
