Szechuan Beef & Vegetables

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

• Whole pepper corns- 1 tbsp
• Dried chili peppers - 2 tbsp
• Ginger root- 1.5 cm long, grated finely
• Garlic cloves - 3-4, crushed
• Water chestnuts - 1/2 cup, thinly sliced
• Snow peas - 1 cup, whole (or halved if too big)
• Capsicum/ bell pepper(any colour) - 1, julienned
• Carrots - 1 lrg, julienned
• Green onions/ scallions - 3, chopped into 1 inch long pieces
• Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Cider vinegar - 1 tbsp
• 
  
• For the Marinade:
• Beef rib-eye steak- 1 lb, cut into thin strips
• Tomato sauce/ketchup - 2 tbsp
• Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
• Cider vinegar - 1 tbsp
• Salt - adjust to taste, since the soy sauce will be salty
• Black pepper - 1/2 tsp

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl mix in all the ingredients for the marinade and marinate the beef strips overnight or minimum of 2 hours, refrigerated. On the day of cooking, take them out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature, for at least half hour before cooking.
  
• 2. In a wok, heat 3 tbsp of oil, till smoking hot. Add the pepper corns, saute for few min, then remove the pepper corns with a spoon. This is just to infuse the oil with the peppery taste and scent.
• 3. Add the dried chili peppers to the oil, saute for couple of min. Add the garlic, ginger and the beef strips. Saute on high heat till they are cooked. For about 3-4 min.

• 4. Add the vegetables, except the scallions and stir-fry for about 3 - 4 min on high heat.
• 5. In a bowl, mix in the vinegar, soy sauce, and the sugar. Pour this mixture on top of the beef and veg. Turn the heat off. Stir to combine everything together. Garnish with the chopped scallions. Serve with plain white rice.

Hints:
For a vegetarian version, you can skip the meat altogether. Also, use any combination of vegetables you like.