This interesting dish combines century eggs with sliced beef in a stir fry that is perfectly suitable as a main dish, or as one of many dishes in a multicourse Chinese meal. Most of the flavor in the dish comes from a brief marinade of the beef in mushroom-flavored soy sauce, sesame oil and Shaoxing – a type of rice wine. This is accented by the lightly cooked sliced ginger to produce a fantastic combination of savory, salty, and lightly spicy dish.
The pidan add a gentle, but piquant flavor to the recipe that works extremely well with the sliced beef. Once again, the strong flavor of the eggs is tamed by the other flavors of the recipe to produce a uniquely flavored dish suitable for many meals.
Stir-Fried Beef and Century Eggs
Ingredients
¾ – 1-pound sirloin beef, thinly sliced (¼ inch thick or less)
3 teaspoons mushroom-flavored soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 teaspoons Shaoxing
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4-5 thousand-year eggs, cut into eighths (coarsely chopped)
2 x 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips
2-3 teaspoons sesame seeds, lightly roasted (for garnish)
Directions
In a small bowl, mix mushroom soy, rice wine, and sesame oil. Add the beef strips and set aside for about 30 minutes to marinate.
Heat vegetable oil in a wok and add stir-fry the meat mixture and marinade for 1-2 minutes. Then add 1000-year eggs and stir-fry another half minute before adding the ginger. Stir well for another minute, plate, add sesame seeds, and serve.
Variations: This recipe works well with salted eggs, or a combination of pidan and salted eggs. For a Taiwanese twist, use a few iron eggs in place of some pidan, or mix all three egg types for an interesting dish. A lighter soy can also be used instead of the thicker, mushroom soy. Other rice wines can also be substituted, but the flavor will not be the same as that brought by Shaoxing.
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Once again, this is a recipe that is a must try for those a bit shy to the flavor of Century Eggs, because it is a dish that uses, but at the same time, mutes the strong flavor of the eggs. And with a total of 3-4 minutes of cooking and perhaps 15 minutes of prep, what’s not to love about this dish! (Words and Photos by Laura Kelley.)