Choy sum with beef

Ingredientsserves 4

Method

1. Marinate the beef with soy, sugar, cornflour and a tablespoon of water until the water is absorbed, then seal with a teaspoon of oil; fifteen minutes on the bench.
2. Rinse the choy sum and shake it as dry as you can; wet greens spit and steam instead of frying.
3. Heat the wok hard, add two tablespoons of oil, spread the beef in one layer, leave it twenty seconds, then toss to half cooked and lift out.
4. Fry the ginger and garlic in the remaining oil, add the choy sum stems first, then the leaves, with a pinch of salt and sugar; splash the wine down the side of the wok.
5. When the greens are bright and just tender, about a minute and a half, return the beef, pour in the oyster sauce mix and toss half a minute until it coats. Serve.

Take care

• Contains soy and wheat (soy sauce, oyster sauce); oyster sauce contains mollusc (oyster). The beef is served pink-centred by design, so use fresh beef and eat it the same day.

The story

Choy sum is the everyday green of the Cantonese table, and pairing it with velveted beef is the first stir-fry a Hong Kong cook learns after tomato and egg. The technique that matters is the marinade: cornflour and oil lock the moisture into the beef, the same trick behind a restaurant's beef chow fun and a cha chaan teng's satay beef.

Same technique

Tomato and eggGinger and spring onion beefClams in black bean and chilli

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.