Black pepper beef stir-fried udon
Marinated beef stir-fried over a high heat with cabbage and green pepper, then tossed with udon — peppery, warming and ready in fifteen minutes.
- 25 min
- Serves 2
- Stir-fry
- Easy
Why it suits you: Yang-deficient people have cold hands and feet and a sensitive stomach, and Major Heat's air conditioning and cold drinks weaken spleen yang further — making summer the moment for 'treating winter illness in summer' by warming yang. Black pepper warms the middle and dispels cold, beef strengthens the spleen and builds qi and blood, and cabbage supports the stomach. A hot plate of udon warms you up.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 10 min- 1Marinate the beef with half the light soy sauce, the cornflour and a little oil for 10 minutes. Blanch the udon in boiling water for 1 minute and drain.
- 2Heat the oil in a wok and stir-fry the beef over a high heat until about 70% cooked, then lift out.
- 3Fry the garlic in the same wok until fragrant, add the cabbage and green pepper and stir-fry until just softened.
- 4Add the udon, remaining light soy, dark soy, oyster sauce and black pepper, toss well, return the beef and stir-fry for 30 seconds more.
Cautions
- Pepper and beef are warming, so use less pepper if you have a sore throat, mouth ulcers or constipation.
Chef's tips
- Slice the beef thinly against the grain for tenderness; frozen udon loosens after a quick blanch, so it won't break up in the wok.
The TCM view
Black pepper is pungent and hot, warming the middle and dispelling cold — the Bencao Gangmu says it 'warms the intestines and stomach and expels cold-damp'. Beef is sweet and warm, strengthening the spleen and stomach and building qi and blood; cabbage is sweet and neutral, supporting the stomach; green pepper is warm and whets the appetite. Warming without being drying, it suits yang-deficient people in summer.
