Hed Chef's recipe for flavourful flank

For too long have I ignored the flavourful goodness of less popular cuts such as the flank steak.

It took a butcher's repeated attempts to convince me that I should give it a try. Marinated and stir-fried, it packed flavour and was surprisingly tender.

The first step to enjoying flank steak in a stir-fry is to get the slicing done right. The rule of thumb is to slice the meat against the grain, not along or parallel to the grain - not unless you fancy a great jaw workout of continuous chewing.

The butcher I go to favours cutting the flank steak on the bias, which means slicing across the grain at a 45-degree angle.

So far, I find that either method of slicing flank steak renders pretty tender results. Once the meat is sliced right, half the battle is won.

The next thing to tackle is the marinade. I personally favour the use of Chinese rose wine. If you do not have this at home, skip it - Shaoxing wine will suffice. With the marinade, there is no need to season the beef when stir-frying.

By all means, do a taste test and season with a little salt if you like it saltier.

INGREDIENTS
(SERVES FOUR)

• 280g flank steak, sliced
• ⅛ tsp Chinese rose wine
• 1½ tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ¼ tsp coarse black pepper
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1½ tbsp cornflour
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 15g ginger, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced lengthwise
• 10g spring onion, cut into 5cm lengths

METHOD

1. Place the beef in a bowl. Add the Chinese rose wine, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, coarse black pepper, light soy sauce, oyster sauce and cornflour.

2. Mix well. Cover the bowl with clingwrap and place it in the fridge to marinate for two hours.

3. Heat oil in a saute pan and add the ginger slices. Fry over medium heat for a minute or until edges are slightly browned. Remove the ginger from the pan and set aside.

4. Add the sliced garlic to the pan and fry for a minute until the edges begin to brown.

5. Add the beef to the pan. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

6. Add the fried ginger slices.

7. Throw in the spring onion and toss briefly for 30 seconds.

8. Serve immediately.

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