Learn how to make hot and numbing Sichuan style water boiled beef at home.
Sichuan style water boiled beef is one of my favorite dishes in restaurants. If you ever tasted it in China, you will crazily love the tenderness of the beef slices and shocked by how well they are flavored in the hot and red broth.
“Water boiling” (水煮) is a unique cooking method originated in Sichuan cuisine. Of course, delicious beef slices cannot be achieved via “cooking in water”. The meat (fish, pork and beef) is well coated with a “protection shell” made from water and starch. This special layer of shell, on one hand, prevents the beef from being spoiled by the hot broth and on the other hand helps to keep the juice inside.
Another surprise of the dish, in addition to the beef slice, is the vegetables at the bottom. They can absorb enough flavor form the broth, even though they are not boiled in the broth directly. Popular options about bottom vegetables are cabbage, bean sprouts, celery, mushrooms and lettuce head.
Ingredients
- 150g beef steak or tenderloin (cut into thin slices, against the grain)
- 1 small bunch of bean sprouts, remove the roots
- pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons starch +1 tablespoon water (recommend potato starch or sweet potato starch)
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
- 1+1/2 tablespoons water or slightly more if needed.
- 2 green onions, white part cut into 2cm long and green pert chopped
- 2 star anises
- 5-8 dried chili pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Sichuan pepper
- 1 tablespoon doubajiang
- 1 teaspoon dou-chi (optional)
- water as needed
- 1+2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 thumb ginger, sliced
- Coriander and green onion for garnishing
Instructions
Cut beef steak into thin slices against the grains. Transfer to a bowl, add pinch of salt and cooking wine. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes and then add starch and water.
Bring a large pot of water to a boiling and then blanch the bean sprouts for 1 minute. Transfer out and place at the bottom of serving bowl.
In a wok, add 1 tablespoon of oil, fry half of the chili pepper, half of Sichuan peppercorn, star anise over lowest fire until aroma. Then add ginger, garlic and green onion whites, cook for around another 30 seconds. Add doubanjiang and dou-chi in, fry until you can see the red oil come out. Pour around 1L water in. Simmer for around 15-20 minutes with lid covered. During this process, you may smell the strong aroma bought by the broth. Remove all the solid content and leave the soup base only.
Grasp beef slices again to make sure they are evenly coated. Turn up fire and add the beef slices in and cook until the broth begin to boil again. Wait for around 20 to 30 seconds and transfer them out immediately. Spread the left Sichuan peppercorn and dried red chili pepper on top of the beef slices.
Heat up around 2 tablespoons of cooking oil again in small pot. Evenly pour the oil on the surface of the serving bowl. Be careful during the process; do not get burnt!
- 150 g beef steak or tenderloin , cut into thin slices, against the grain
- 1 small bunch of bean sprouts , remove the roots
- pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp. starch +1 tablespoon water , recommend potato starch or sweet potato starch
- 1 tbsp. Chinese cooking wine
- 1.5 tbsp. water , or slightly more if needed.
- 2 green onions , white part cut into 2cm long and green pert chopped
- 2 star anises
- 5-8 dried chili pepper
- 1/2 tsp. Sichuan peppercorn
- 1 tbsp. Doubajiang
- 1 tsp. fermented black beans , dou-chi
- water as needed
- 3 tbsp. cooking oil
- 3 garlic cloves , sliced
- 1 thumb ginger , sliced
- Coriander and green onion for garnishing
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Cut beef steak into thin slices against the grain. Transfer to a bowl, add pinch of salt and cooking wine. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes and then add starch and water.
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Bring a large pot of water to a boiling and then blanch the bean sprouts for 1 minute. Transfer out and place at the bottom of serving bowl.
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In a wok, add 1 tablespoon of oil, fry half of the chili pepper, half of Sichuan peppercorn, star anise over lowest fire until aroma. Then add ginger, garlic and green onion whites, cook for around another 30 seconds.
-
Add doubanjiang and dou-chi in, fry until you can see the red oil come out.
-
Pour around 1L water in. Simmer for around 15-20 minutes with lid covered. During this process, you may smell the strong aroma bought by the broth. Remove all the solid content and keep the soup base only.
-
Grasp the beef slices again to make sure they are evenly coated. Turn up fire and add the beef slices in and cook until the broth begin to boil again. Wait for around 20 to 30 seconds and transfer them out immediately. Spread the remaining chili pepper and Sichuan pepper over the beef slices.
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Heat up around 2 tablespoons of cooking oil again in wok. Evenly pour the oil on the surface of the serving bowl. Be careful during the process; do not get burnt!
You can sprinkle some ground Sichuan peppercorn if you love the numbing feeling.
Made this today, very very tasty, didn’t have bean sprouts so used english cabbage instead and it worked well.
It wasn’t mentioned, so I removed all solids from liquid before putting steak in.
The steak had a great taste ad incredible texture.
I think I’ve made about 15 of your recipes, all turn out great, some recipes I’ve made many times, but the twice cooked pork has been made by me about 20 times.
Thank you
Hi,Steven
Shui Zhu Beef is a little difficult for the beginner, but obviously you have got the point. It’s amazing when I heard you have tried so many times for twice cooked pork. Is it succeed finally? Or maybe you really love to enjoy this dish? ?
Twice cooked pork was a success the first time I cooked it, it’s my ‘go to’ meal when time is tight.
Hi, can I make shui zhu fish the same way? Thank you in advance!
Sure, Shirley.
Dear Elaine,
thank you for that recipe! It’s by far my most favourite chinese dish and I need to have a try in every new restaurant I go!
I’m really looking forward to cook it at home very soon!
Like Steven in the comment above I’ve already cooked many of your recipes which are very easy to follow and give excellent tasting results (ok, always depending on the ingredients available… I’m in Finland).
Keep on doing so well, best wishes!
Hi, Barbara
It is gratifying that every time I heard many friends from all over the world have tried my recipes. I’m so happy that you guys love Chinese dishes and cook them at home. Thanks for all your support! Hope you have a good time.
MERCI à toi pour tes bonnes recettes.
Je vais essayer de trouver la pâte de haricots pour faire ce plat. Sans cet ingrédient, le plat ne serait pas aussi bon.
Je t’embrasse affectueusement. Chris 06
PS::grâce à toi,je fais des progrès dans ta gastronomie
I have noticed on several of your recipes, your use of small red chile peppers. What kind of chile pepper are they?
Are they hot, mild, etc? Thank you Elaine 🙂
That’s a facing heavy chili pepper, a popular kind in Sichuan cuisine. They are quite hot. You can dried Thai peppers.
Elaine,
I finally received the last exotic ingredient in many of your recipes yesterday.
Last night I made this dish, even having the dou chi in it.
This was delicious! My husband loved it, and wants me to make more next time so
he has some leftovers.
Thank you 🙂
By the way, I love the exotic ingredients, and one of the reasons I love your recipes. It makes for a truly authentic dish. You are teaching me how to cook food that I love out in restaurants Elaine. Thanks again 🙂
Hi,Nichole
Nice to hear that you have tried the shui zhu beef successfully. The real taste depends on the authentic ingredients, and your exotic ones make it perfect. Amazing!
Elaine,
Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful recipes. I tried this recipe yesterday but my sauce was not so red as yours. I used the brand Lee Kum Kee Chilli Bean Sauce (Toban Djan) so I am thinking perhaps i should have used more than 1 tbl to get a really nice red colour?
The flavour was really good and the beef was so soft just my colour was not strong enough.
Hi Livia,
I am using Pi’xian doubanjiang. I believe that the brand has better color then Lee Kum Kee. If you really love to have a bright red color, you can add some pure red oil.
Hello, I just found your sight and am excited to try your recipes? For this dish do you use 辣豆瓣酱 or just plain 豆瓣酱？
thanks!
In order to create the authentic Sichuan taste, you need to use Pi’xian doubanjiang as the first choice. However,辣豆瓣酱 can be a substitute.
Sorry, I haven’t had this in a restaurant; when you extract the beef from the broth, are you done with the broth?
No, you will still need to pour the broth to the serving bowl until most of the beef is almost covered.
Hi Elaine,
great recipe! I used some bean sprouts and enoki mushrooms as vegetables which tasted really good.
What kind of oil do you use for pouring over the top? I used canola oil, but I imagine peanut oil would work too, albeit giving a slightly different taste.