This dish is as close to a Chinese/American BBQ sauce as it gets – rich, dark, sticky and with that perfect twang, it really gets those juices flowing as you bite into a piece of tender steak and crisp onion. Although not essential, marinating your beef to tenderise it really does make a huge difference.
500g (1lb 2oz) beef fillet, cut into slices across the grain
2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch), plus 1 tbsp mixed with 2 tbsp water
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 onion, sliced into strips
For the sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
6 tbsp tomato ketchup
3 tbsp brown sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp granulated sugar
120ml (½ cup) chicken stock
¼ tsp white pepper
Put the beef strips, 1 tablespoon of the groundnut oil, the rice wine, soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil and the 1 tablespoon of cornflour into a large bowl. Mix thoroughly and leave to marinate for 2 hours or overnight.
When you’re ready to cook, put all of the sauce ingredients into a saucepan and slowly bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Place a wok over a medium–high heat, add the remaining oil and the garlic and stir-fry for 15 seconds. Add the onion and fry for a further minute. Add the marinated beef and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then pour in the sauce and bring to the boil. Slowly pour in the cornflour mixture, stirring constantly, to thicken the sauce. Remove from the heat, stir in the remaining sesame oil and serve straightaway.