Stir-fried beef with Chinese kale
Crisp, sweet Chinese kale stir-fried with tender beef over a fierce heat, with little oil or sauce — full of wok hei, cooling and never heavy.
- 28 min
- Serves 2
- Stir-fry
- Easy
Why it suits you: Damp-heat types have oily skin and a bitter taste and are prone to spots, and with Chushu's heat and humidity lingering, fried and fatty food only feeds the damp heat. Chinese kale clears heat, detoxifies and drains water; lean beef strengthens the spleen and stomach without greasiness. Fast, fierce stir-frying with little oil or sauce keeps it fresh and punchy.
Method
Prep 20 min · Cook 8 min- 1Slice the beef thinly against the grain and mix with the soy sauce, cornflour, sugar and 1 tbsp water. Leave for 15 minutes, then stir in a little oil.
- 2Pick off any tough leaves, peel the thick stems and slice them on the diagonal. Blanch the kale for 1 minute in boiling water with a little salt and oil, then drain.
- 3Heat the oil, spread the beef out in the pan over a high heat, sear for 30 seconds, then stir-fry until about 70 per cent cooked and set aside.
- 4Fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant, stir-fry the kale for 1 minute, return the beef, splash in the wine and toss over a high heat. Serve at once.
Cautions
- Chinese kale is cooling, so don't overdo it if your digestion is weak; stick to lean cuts of beef rather than fatty slices or brisket, which feed damp heat.
Chef's tips
- Blanching the kale before stir-frying cooks it evenly and keeps it bright green; sear the oiled beef in a single layer before tossing so it stays tender.
The TCM view
Chinese kale is sweet, pungent and cool, entering the liver and stomach, clearing heat, detoxifying, draining water and resolving phlegm. Beef is sweet and neutral, strengthening the spleen and stomach and building qi and blood, and lean cuts nourish without heaviness; ginger and garlic aid digestion and temper the kale's coolness.
