This is the starter I made for Valentine's day this year. I had an idea of what I wanted to achieve based on various recipes....one from the Martha Stewart website, another from a Ken Hom cookery book and another from Rick Steins South East Asian Odyssey cookbook, but I didn't have all the ingredients to hand for any one recipe. So this is what I came up with...sorry, no exact measurments! You can find the Main course I served here.
INGREDIENTS for Beef
- piece of beef fillet (about the size of your palm), sliced very thinly
- good glug of sesame oil
- couple good pinches of five spice powder
- 3 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- good glug of dark soy sauce
- Inch of ginger, not peeled, finely chopped
- tsp of sugar
- tsp of fresh coarsly ground pepper
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- pinch of salt
- Mixed salad leaves - I used a mixture of Watercress, rocket, spinach and basil
- dessert spoon of red wine vinegar
- couple tsps of sesame oil
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- Handful of crushed peanuts
- a couple of spring onions, sliced into thin strips
- mix all the ingredients in a bowl and leave to marinate for around 20 mins
- heat a wok until almost smoking, then add some vegetable oil to the wok and flash fry the beef - seriously, no more than 20 secs. If you have bought good quality beef this is the perfect amount of time
- remove beef from the pan and set aside
- mix ingredients for dressing, taste as you go and adjust amounts until you get the right balance of flavours
- put salad leaves in a bowl and drizzle in dressing, mixing to coat well
- Put salad on a plate, top with the beef, then dress with the spring onion slices and the crushed peanuts
Enjoy!
