A deeply savory, spicy cold beef dish adapted from Wang Gang’s recipe. The beef is simmered with aromatics, chilled, sliced thinly, then tossed with a fragrant chili-sesame sauce. It tastes best after being chilled thoroughly.

Ingredients

Beef:

• 1 kg beef
• Water, for soaking and blanching
• 30g ginger, sliced
• 3 stalks scallions, cut into sections
• 5g salt
• 1g sugar
• 3g five-spice powder
• 5g dark soy sauce
• 20g soy sauce
• 20g scallions, cut into sections

Aromatics for Simmering:

• 2 star anise
• 1 small piece cinnamon
• A few bay leaves
• 15g fennel seeds
• 2g green Sichuan peppercorns
• 10g dried chili segments

For Stir-Frying:

• Neutral oil, as needed
• 50g dried chili powder
• 30g white sesame seeds
• Dried chili segments, to taste
• 5g starch
• 3g five-spice powder
• 3g MSG
• 5g sugar
• Sichuan peppercorn oil, to taste

Instructions

1. Cut the beef into two long strips. Soak in clean water for 60 minutes to draw out excess blood, then drain. Blanch in cold water brought to a boil, then remove and drain well.
2. Heat a pot with a little oil. Stir-fry the sliced ginger and scallions until golden, then remove. Add the simmering aromatics and stir-fry over medium-low heat until fragrant. Add enough water, return the ginger and scallions, and add the blanched beef, salt, sugar, five-spice powder, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, and scallions. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 40 minutes.
3. Remove the beef, let cool, then slice very thinly — about 2mm thick.
4. Heat a wok with a generous amount of oil (the original uses about 80g, but less works too). Add the sliced beef and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring gently, until excess moisture cooks off.
5. Add the dried chili powder, white sesame seeds, and dried chili segments. Continue stir-frying over low heat for about 8 minutes until fragrant. Add the starch, five-spice powder, MSG, sugar, and Sichuan peppercorn oil. Stir evenly and remove from heat.
6. Let cool completely, then refrigerate until cold. Serve chilled.

Notes

This dish is much better cold — the flavors deepen as it chills. It is especially good as a drinking snack. Adapted from Wang Gang’s recipe.