Orange Beef

Photo: flickr user kim siciliano salem

Ingredients

2 cups groundnut/peanut oil

1/2 pound beef sirloin (topside) thinly sliced

1/4 cup vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

2 inches piece dried mandarin (tangerine) peel soaked warm

water for 45 minutes, and then shredded

(available at Chinese stores)

Finely-shredded orange zest (rind) for garnish

Preparation

Heat the groundnut oil in a wok to moderately hot. Deep-fry the beef slices until the beef changes color. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Pour off the oil from the wok.

Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the orange zest, to the wok and simmer together for 2 minutes.

Return the beef slices to the wok and cook in the sauce over moderate heat until the sauce is reduced sufficiently to coat the meat pieces and most of the sauce has been reduced.

Toss the finely shredded orange zest through and serve.

This recipe yields 4 servings.

Comments: Chieh translates as "lucky one" and describes the beloved mandarin (tangerine) tree.

As an ornamental shrub, the mandarin orange is traditionally displayed in the home to celebrate Chinese New Year. As a high-quality fruit, it is a much sought-after cooking ingredient, especially for its peel, when dried.

Beef is considered by the Chinese to be too strong in "meat" flavor and is "married" to contrasting and often sweet ingredients, such as the fruit in this dish, to render it more palatable.