{"id":37913,"title":"Sa Cha Beef","modified":"2025-07-03T09:43:44+02:00","plain":"A classic Chinese stir-fry of beef with Sa Cha sauce\n\n\n\nLike its popular cousin Sa Cha chicken, Sa Cha beef (\u6c99\u8336\u725b\u8089) is a staple of the Chinese home-cooking repertoire often found on small family buffet tables. Serve it with fried rice, vegetable noodles, plain rice, hong shao rou, and a side of blanched greens for a satisfying Asian spread.\n\n\n\nSa Cha Chicken\n\n\n\nOrigins of Sa Cha Beef\n\n\n\nBecause Sa Cha sauce was born in Chaozhou in China's Guangdong province, it is safe to assume that the beef dish cooked with it originated there as well.\n\n\n\nThat's really all there is to it. If you are not familiar with the sauce (it is widely used in Chinese hotpot), it is typically made with soybean oil, garlic, shallots, chilies, dried brill fish, and dried shrimp.\n\n\n\nThe exact ratios vary from brand to brand and from one restaurant to the next, so the flavor can differ significantly.\n\n\n\nMain ingredients of Sa Cha stir-fried beef\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe beef: Use a quick-cooking cut such as rib-eye or sirloin\n\n\n\nOyster sauce: It does not taste like oysters; it simply adds a rich savory note. A vegetarian version is available for anyone with shellfish allergies\n\n\n\nLight soy sauce: a light, salty soy sauce you can find in any grocery store\n\n\n\nShaoxing wine: a traditional Chinese rice wine; dry sherry or sake are acceptable but imperfect substitutes\n\n\n\nCornstarch: an essential part of the marinade; it helps the seasonings adhere and gives the beef a silky texture\n\n\n\nSesame oil: Use either toasted or virgin oil - the only difference is how intense the sesame flavor is. I prefer toasted\n\n\n\nKai lan: also called Chinese broccoli, it is a staple vegetable in Chinese cooking\n\n\n\n\n\n\tSa Cha beef\n\t\t\n\t\tA classic Chinese stir-fry of tender beef tossed in savory Sa Cha sauce.\t\n\t\n\t\tWok\t\n\t\n\t\t200 g beef (thinly sliced)1 small bunch Chinese broccoli (gai lan; substitute with bok choy)Marinade0.5 teaspoon salt1 tablespoon oyster sauce0.5 tablespoon light soy sauce0.25 teaspoon ground white pepper0.25 teaspoon sugar0.5 tablespoon Shaoxing wine2 tablespoons water3 teaspoons cornstarch1 teaspoon sesame oilStir-frycooking oil (as needed)3 cloves garlic (minced)2 tablespoons Sa Cha sauce\t\n\t\n\t\tThinly slice the beef, then combine it in a bowl with all the marinade ingredients.Let the beef marinate for 15 minutes.Blanch the vegetables: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon neutral oil.Cook for 10\u201315 seconds, just until bright green and crisp-tender. Don\u2019t overcook.Pour enough oil into a large pan to coat the bottom in a 2\u20133 cm layer. Heat to 120\u2013140 \u00b0C.Lay the beef slices in a single layer. Sear for 5\u201310 seconds, then stir gently until they just change color.As soon as the beef turns opaque, scoop it out, leaving about 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan. Reserve the rest for another stir-fry.Add the garlic and Sa Cha sauce and saut\u00e9 over medium heat for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.Return the beef to the pan and toss for 1\u20132 minutes to coat.Serve the beef with the blanched greens alongside.\t\n\t\n\t\tThe exact amount of oil isn\u2019t critical, but it really improves the texture, especially if you\u2019re new to this dish or still mastering heat control. For the final photo I\u2019d already cooked several rich dishes, so\u2014as you can see\u2014I went a little lighter on the oil.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tPlat principalChinoiseBoeuf, Huile de s\u00e9same, Sauce huitre, Vin shaoxing\t\n\n\n\n\n\nCulinary sources\n\n\n\nI adapted this recipe from the one on \"China Sichuan Food\", increasing the amount of garlic.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}