hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we’re taking a crack at a Chinese take out classic, which is a a Tomato Beef Chow Mein. For those not familiar, tomato beef chow mein as you might guess, prominently features the use of tomatoes, which happen to be in season right now here in CA. If you don’t happen to be so lucky though, you can also totally make use of some canned whole tomatoes, too (which actually might be preferable than an out of season tomato, since it’ll have been picked and preserved at its peak ripeness).
Our flavor palette is mostly going to be drawing from a number of familiar pantry sauces that you’ll likely recognize here. There will however be one VERY American addition, which is a little bit of ketchup for that classic form of sweetness you’ll know and love, cut with a bit of sweet chili sauce, for an interesting sweet and savory addition. Hope you try it.
Serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS
4 cloves garlic
1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger
16 oz Shanghainese noodles
16 oz flank steak (or skirt steak)
3 green onions
2 vine ripe tomatoes (or whole canned tomatoes)
1 green bell pepper
1/2 medium sweet white onion
ice
peanut oil
INGREDIENTS (steak marinade)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp corn starch
pinch kosher salt
INGREDIENTS (noodle marinade)
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
INGREDIENTS (sauce)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp doubanjiang
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1/2 cup stock
pinch kosher salt
PREP
CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside
FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside
LARGE DICE the bell pepper, set aside
LARGE DICE the onion, set aside
SEPARATE the greens and whites of the green onions, then slice the whites thinly, and slice the greens on a bias. Set aside
SLICE the tomatoes into wedges, set aside
THINLY slice the steak against the grain, remove all membrane, and combine with all steak marinade ingredients. Set aside
COMBINE all sauce ingredients
ON THE STOVE
FILL a large mixing bowl with water and ice
BOIL a pot of water, and cook the noodles for 2 minutes, then immediately remove, strain, and soak in the ice bath
ADD the noodles to a mixing bowl and season with the noodle marinade
HEAT a wok as hot as possible, then add 4 tbsp of peanut oil, and long yao
ADD steak strips flat side down one at a time and sear for 2 minutes, then toss for 1 additional minute and remove
WIPE DOWN the wok, reheat, and add 4 tbsp of peanut oil, and long yao
ADD the garlic and ginger, and bloom until fragrant (about 10 seconds)
ADD the bell pepper and saute for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes and onions and saute for an additional 2-3 minutes
REMOVE the veggies from the wok, wipe down, reheat, add 4 tbsp of peanut oil, and long yao
ADD the noodles to the wok and saute for 4 minutes until slightly crisp
ADD the beef and veggies back to the wok and toss to combine
ADD the sauce mixture about 1/4 cup at a time, seasoning to taste
FINISH with the greens of green onions