Hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to foods from TV and film with a shot at the “City Beef” from South Park. City Beef (as pronounced without the comically racist Chinese accent) has long been on the to-do list for this series for some time now. The main reason why we haven’t gotten around to it until now is because it’s pretty clear that City Beef is intended to be Mongolian Beef, which of course, we’ve thoroughly explored on the channel already. So! For today’s dish as we search of another beef related Chinese stir fry to carry the City Beef title, we are instead taking a look at a tomato beef stir fry.
For those not familiar, the tomato beef stir fry has its origins from Chinese American cuisine, and most prominently features a seared and flash fried flank or sirloin steak, then sautéed with veggies, tomatoes, and of course most importantly, ketchup to give it its iconically sweet and savory flavor. Finally although beef is fairly rare to come across in traditional Chinese cuisine (meaning that most of the time that you see it come up in Chinese food, it’s probably of American origin), a number of fundamental cooking techniques surrounding flank and sirloin steak have their origins from Chinese cooking, due to their prevalence in Chinese American cuisine. Most prominently today, this is going to include a technique known as velveting, wherein we’ll be using some baking soda and food science to turn this very tough and chewy cut of steak into a buttery soft piece of beef. Hope you try it. [**Follow the full video on youtube**](https://youtu.be/NJ3572_-SoA) for the whole story too!
**Woo Can Cook** is a series where we reproduce fun foods and recipes from my childhood. Some of them are authentically Chinese and/or pan-Asian, but a lot of them are odd Americanized versions that I inherited from my parents and grandparents while growing up in the Bay Area/California.
**Homebase** (Recipes, Livestream Schedule, Music and more): [Woo Can Cook](https://WooCanCook.com)
**PREP** – CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside – FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside – LARGE DICE the onion, set aside – SLICE the tomatoes into halves, set aside – SLICE the steak into one inch pieces against the grain, then combine with baking soda slurry and let marinate for 15 minutes – RINSE the steak in cold water, then drain the water, combine with remaining marinade ingredients, and let marinate for an additional 30 minutes – COMBINE all sauce ingredients, set aside
**ON THE STOVE** – HEAT a wok over medium heat, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao – ADD the steak 15-20 pieces at a time and sear for 2 minutes undisturbed – TOSS the wok with the side tilted downward toward the open flame for optional wok hei – REHEAT the wok as hot as possible, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao – ADD the garlic and ginger, then bloom for 15 seconds until fragrant – ADD the onions and toss for 1-2 minutes – ADD the tomatoes and steak back to the wok, then toss to combine – ADD 1/4 cup water plus sauce element 1/4 cup at a time, seasoning to taste – SIMMER over medium heat for 5 minutes, then add the corn starch slurry to thicken
jack_seven
Left handed cocking videos are incredibly strange
clamnaked
Too much wok hei!!! I’m dying.
3 Comments
Hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to foods from TV and film with a shot at the “City Beef” from South Park. City Beef (as pronounced without the comically racist Chinese accent) has long been on the to-do list for this series for some time now. The main reason why we haven’t gotten around to it until now is because it’s pretty clear that City Beef is intended to be Mongolian Beef, which of course, we’ve thoroughly explored on the channel already. So! For today’s dish as we search of another beef related Chinese stir fry to carry the City Beef title, we are instead taking a look at a tomato beef stir fry.
For those not familiar, the tomato beef stir fry has its origins from Chinese American cuisine, and most prominently features a seared and flash fried flank or sirloin steak, then sautéed with veggies, tomatoes, and of course most importantly, ketchup to give it its iconically sweet and savory flavor. Finally although beef is fairly rare to come across in traditional Chinese cuisine (meaning that most of the time that you see it come up in Chinese food, it’s probably of American origin), a number of fundamental cooking techniques surrounding flank and sirloin steak have their origins from Chinese cooking, due to their prevalence in Chinese American cuisine. Most prominently today, this is going to include a technique known as velveting, wherein we’ll be using some baking soda and food science to turn this very tough and chewy cut of steak into a buttery soft piece of beef. Hope you try it. [**Follow the full video on youtube**](https://youtu.be/NJ3572_-SoA) for the whole story too!
**Woo Can Cook** is a series where we reproduce fun foods and recipes from my childhood. Some of them are authentically Chinese and/or pan-Asian, but a lot of them are odd Americanized versions that I inherited from my parents and grandparents while growing up in the Bay Area/California.
**Homebase** (Recipes, Livestream Schedule, Music and more): [Woo Can Cook](https://WooCanCook.com)
**Recipes**: [Woo Can Cook (Youtube)](https://youtube.com/woocancook?sub_confirmation=1)
**Music**: [Woo Cooks Beats (Lofi Beats to Cook to)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGtCN2AmHXU&list=PL72dM3fKnbHupDC0cIOHxaHBvjZLY3TdT&index=12)
**Woo Can Cook Fried Rice Pop Up (Sundays @ The West Oakland Farmers Market!)**: https://WooCanCook.com/eats
**TikTok** (short recipes and Woo Cooks Beats): [Woo Can Cook](https://www.tiktok.com/@woocancook)
**Instagram** (pop-up schedule, music, and random Taki cameos): [@woocancook](https://instagram.com/WooCanCook)
**RECIPE**
https://woocancook.com/tomato-beef-stir-fry
**INGREDIENTS**
– 4 cloves garlic
– 1 inch (about 1 tbsp) fine minced ginger
– 1/2 medium white onion
– 14 oz can Roma tomatoes (or about 6 fresh tomatoes)
– 1 lb flank or sirloin steak
– peanut oil
– corn starch slurry (2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in water)
**INGREDIENTS (marinade)**
– 1/2 tsp baking soda dissolved in water
– 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
– 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
– 1 tbsp sesame oil
– 1/2 tsp white pepper
– 1/2 tsp corn starch
**INGREDIENTS (sauce)**
– 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
– 2 tbsp rice vinegar
– 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
– 1 tbsp oyster sauce
– 1 tbsp doubanjiang
– 2 tbsp ketchup
– 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
**PREP**
– CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside
– FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside
– LARGE DICE the onion, set aside
– SLICE the tomatoes into halves, set aside
– SLICE the steak into one inch pieces against the grain, then combine with baking soda slurry and let marinate for 15 minutes
– RINSE the steak in cold water, then drain the water, combine with remaining marinade ingredients, and let marinate for an additional 30 minutes
– COMBINE all sauce ingredients, set aside
**ON THE STOVE**
– HEAT a wok over medium heat, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao
– ADD the steak 15-20 pieces at a time and sear for 2 minutes undisturbed
– TOSS the wok with the side tilted downward toward the open flame for optional wok hei
– REHEAT the wok as hot as possible, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao
– ADD the garlic and ginger, then bloom for 15 seconds until fragrant
– ADD the onions and toss for 1-2 minutes
– ADD the tomatoes and steak back to the wok, then toss to combine
– ADD 1/4 cup water plus sauce element 1/4 cup at a time, seasoning to taste
– SIMMER over medium heat for 5 minutes, then add the corn starch slurry to thicken
Left handed cocking videos are incredibly strange
Too much wok hei!!! I’m dying.