This is actually a new star restaurant dish from Guizhou and southeastern Chongqing: Beef and Mustard Greens. We have a small restaurant featuring Southeastern Chongqing cuisine, and this is their top menu. Now, let’s transfer the restaurant version into a home-cooked dish. It has a gentle kick of spice, a savory umami depth, and carries a subtle sweetness from the mustard greens, making it absolutely delicious and new.
Lately, I’ve been absolutely loving sharing these everyday family table dishes with you. All of you know how to cook mapo tofu and kung pao chicken. But the hidden gems deserve so much more attention. I introduce you to different, lesser-known flavors you may never have tried, but are absolutely worth experiencing. As we all love new tastes.
Southeastern Chongqing Cuisine
The special location in southeastern Chongqing allows the flavors to combine elements of both Guizhou and Hunan. Compared with central Chongqing dishes, which use abundant dried chili peppers, spices, aromatics, and Sichuan peppercorns, food from this special place emphasizes the natural sweetness of ingredients. This beef and mustard greens is just the exact example. Hot and spicy fried beef is served with sweet, crunchy, and fresh mustard greens.
I know most of you have tried pickled mustard greens, as they are a popular ingredient in many Asian countries. Each year, we grow a large batch of mustard greens. Most of those fresh vegetables are dried or pickled. During the winter, we also eat the fresh ones. One week ago, I introduced you to the simplest way to cook mustard greens: stir-fry with garlic and chili pepper flakes. This is an enhanced version, as we have added beef.
Unique Serving Way
The restaurant’s beef and mustard greens are served as a dry pot dish. The beef is stir-fried and placed on a dry pot layered with mustard greens. Then count for 3 minutes, mix everything together, and enjoy.
We will use the same approach. This can be a super great way, as the bottom layer of mustard greens can absorb the beef’s flavors while retaining some natural sweetness. Of course, you can simply stir-fry them together.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. beef, shredded
- 1 tbsp. doubanjiang
- 1 tbsp. chili sauce (optional)
- 4 dried chili peppers
- 1/2 tbsp. Sichuan peppercorns
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup cooking oil
- 1 lb. mustard greens
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 tbsp. pepper flakes
Marinating
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1/8 tsp. white pepper
- 2 tbsp. cornstarch
- 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. water
- 1 tbsp. cooking oil
Cut beef against the grain, add salt, sugar, light soy sauce, white pepper, water, and cornstarch. Mix well until well combined. Then add vegetable oil and remix. Set aside.
Prepare your serving pot, grease it with oil, and then spread the mustard greens in.
Heat the wok first, then reduce the heat. Add doubanjiang and chili sauce, and cook over the lowest heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oil turns red. Add garlic, dried chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorn.
Add the beef in. Quickly fry for around 30 seconds until the beef is almost cooked.
Then transfer all the content to the serving pot, add salt, light soy sauce, pepper flakes and sugar, and mix well. Cover the lid and heat for another 3 minutes. Enjoy. You need to stir it once or twice in the process.
Another way is to add the mustard greens to the wok for stir-frying. Continue frying for about 1 minute until the mustard greens are fully cooked.
Beef and Mustard Greens One Pot
Ingredients
- 1 lb. beef shredded
- 1 lb. mustard greens
- 1 tbsp. doubanjiang
- 1 tbsp. chili sauce optional
- 4 dried chili peppers
- ½ tbsp. Sichuan peppercorns
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup cooking oil
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
- ½ tsp. sugar
- ½ tbsp. pepper flakes
Marinating
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. sugar
- â…› tsp. white pepper
- 2 tbsp. cornstarch
- 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. water
- 1 tbsp. cooking oil
Instructions
- Cut beef against the grain, add salt, sugar, light soy sauce, ,white pepper, water, and cornstarch. Mix well until well combined. Then add vegetable cooking oil, remixing again. Set aside.
- Prepare your serving pot, grease it with oil, and then spread the mustard greens in.
- Heat the wok first, then reduce the heat. Add doubanjiang and chili sauce, and fry for 2-3 minutes over the lowest heat, stirring occasionally, until the oil turns red. Add garlic, dried chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorn.
- Add the beef in. Quickly fry for around 30 seconds until the beef is almost cooked.
- Then transfer all the content to the serving pot, add salt, light soy sauce, and sugar, and mix well. Cover the lid and heat for another 3 minutes. Enjoy! You need to stir it once or twice in the process.
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