Beef a La Sichuan (A P. F. Chang’s Copycat Recipe)
For me, comfort food is Asian food. I could eat Asian inspired meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, it is not always easy to find some good and safe gluten-free Asian dishes, so over the years of being gluten-free I worked on creating my own versions of some of our favorite dishes.
Beef a La Sichuan used to be on P.F. Chang’s gluten free menu, but was taken off a few years back. This was always Bryan’s go to dish when we would eat there (which wasn’t very often honestly). I first tackled this recipe when we were living in Rhode Island and Bryan had just finished his first semester as an 1L and I wanted to make him a special dinner. I’ve made a few adjustments over the years, but if you have ever had this at the restaurant this is pretty dang close to it. It is easy to adjust the spice to your likeness. We like spicy foods so I usually add a bit more of the red pepper and chili oil.
It has been years since I have made this as it can be a bit labor intensive, but so worth it, and Bryan requested it for his birthday dinner this year and I decided to finally post the recipe here for all of you to try.
Beef a La Sichuan (a P.F. Chang’s Copycat Recipe)
Stir-Fry Ingredients
1 Pound Flank or Sirloin Steak Sliced thin (~1/8 – 1/4 inch)
4-6Medium Celery Stalks -Julienned
3-4 Medium Carrots – Julienned
Green Onion Stems – cut in 3rds (Optional)
1/4 – 1/2 Cup Peanut Oil or Canola Oil
1/4 Cup Corn Starch or Arrowroot Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (or whole Tien Tsin Chinese Chili Peppers work great)
1 1/2 Teaspoons Sesame Oil
Sauce Ingredients
3 Tablespoons Gluten Free Soy Sauce (such as San-J)
2 Tablespoons Gluten Free Hoisin Sauce (such as Dynasty)
1 Tablespoon Garlic Chili Paste
1/2 Teaspoon Chinese Hot Mustard
1 Teaspoon Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2 Teaspoon Chili oil/or Mongolian Fire Oil (made by House of Tsang) -(Optional)
1 – 2 Teaspoons Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Minced garlic
1/2 Teaspoon Minced Ginger
1/2 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
Method of Preparation
- Julienne carrots and celery – set aside
- Slice green onions in thirds – set aside
- In a medium bowl; mix together all sauce ingredients, taste and adjust spice as necessary – set aside
- Thinly slice beef and place in medium bowl. Add corn starch or arrowroot powder and toss to coat evenly. Let sit for ten minutes, then rinse beef and pat dry
- Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat, add beef and cook until crispy, remove from oil and drain on paper towel. This may need to be done in stages depending on your pan or wok size
- If you have more than 1/2 tablespoon of oil remaining in the pan or wok, remove excess before starting next step
- In the same pan or wok, add celery, carrots, red pepper flakes, and sesame oil – be sure to not over cook these by keeping things moving in the pan, you want them to have a crispness to them still. Add in crispy beef, green onions (if using). Add sauce and bring to a fast boil, cook for 1 minute and serve immediately over your choice of white rice, brown rice, quinoa, cauli rice, etc.
Chef Notes:
- You can always add more veggies! We often do
- Adjust spice to your preference
- The crispiness of the beef is also up to you – P.F. Chang’s beef was almost deep fried crispiness to it, mine is less but still had a slight crunch to it
March 18, 2020 at 12:00 pm | Chef's Corner, Culinary, Dairy-Free, Egg Free, Fish Free, Gluten-Free, Recipe, Shellfish Free, Tree Nut Free, Wheat Free | No comment
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