Ingredients
500 g (about 1 lb) beef, 100 g (about 3.5 oz) lettuce tips, 50 g (about 1.75 oz) each of garlic sprouts and fresh broth.
Seasonings
75 g vegetable oil, 15 g dried chili flakes, 15 g potato starch, 10 g soy sauce, 10 g fermented rice wine, 10 g Shaoxing wine, 3 g Sichuan peppercorns, 2 g salt, 20 g Pixian broad bean paste.
Instructions
1. Cut the lettuce tips into thin slices about 6 cm (2.5 inches) long; cut the garlic sprouts into sections about 4.5 cm (1.8 inches) long; finely chop the Pixian broad bean paste; slice the beef into pieces about 5 cm (2 inches) long, 3 cm (1.2 inches) wide, and 0.3 cm (1/8 inch) thick, then mix with salt, water starch, and fermented rice juice until well combined.
2. Place a wok over high heat, add oil and heat until hot. Stir-fry the dried chilies until they turn deep red, then remove and finely chop them. Add the broad bean paste to the wok and stir-fry until the oil turns red, then add the chopped chilies and lettuce stems, stir-frying a few times. Pour in fresh broth, add cooking wine, soy sauce, and garlic sprouts, and cook until the garlic sprouts are just tender. Remove the lettuce stems and garlic sprouts and arrange them in a deep serving bowl. Shake the beef slices into the boiling broth, gently stir to separate them, and cook until just done. Ladle the beef and broth over the vegetables in the bowl, sprinkle with the ground chili and Sichuan peppercorn powder, then pour sizzling hot oil over the top. This dish is vibrant red with rich flavors—numbing, spicy, fresh, tender, and piping hot.