Fu Qi Fei Pian (Chili Oil Beef Slices)
Tender beef slices in a fragrant chili oil with numbing Sichuan peppercorns and a splash of vinegar. This iconic Chengdu dish is served cold and comes together quickly once the beef is sliced.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Servings
- 2
- Calories
- 385
- Protein
- 32g
Ingredients
- ¾ lb beef flank steak
- 1 tablespoon sichuan peppercorns
- 4 whole dried red chilis
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 3 clove garlic
- 2 whole scallions
Instructions
- 1
Fill a medium pot halfway with water and bring it to a rolling boil over high heat, about 8 minutes. You will see large bubbles breaking the surface rapidly.
- 2
While water heats, place the beef flank steak on a cutting board and pat it dry with paper towels on all sides to remove surface moisture.
- 3
Once the water is boiling, carefully place the entire beef steak into the pot and stir once with a spoon so it doesn't stick to the bottom.
- 4
Let the beef cook in the boiling water for 12 minutes, stirring once after 6 minutes. The meat will turn from red to gray throughout.
- 5
Remove the beef with tongs and place it on a cutting board. Let it cool until you can hold it comfortably in your hand, about 5 minutes.
- 6
Once cool, place the beef on the cutting board with the grain running left to right. Slice straight down across the grain into pieces 1/8 inch thick, like deli meat, producing thin, tender slices.
- 7
Arrange the beef slices in a single layer on a serving plate, slightly overlapping them like roof shingles.
- 8
Mince the 3 garlic cloves until the pieces are smaller than a grain of rice—about the size of pencil-tip dots.
- 9
Slice each scallion on a sharp angle by holding the blade at a 45-degree angle and cutting through the white and green parts into 1-inch-long pieces.
- 10
Break each dried red chili in half with your fingers, removing and discarding the seeds inside. You will have about 8 pieces.
- 11
Pour 0.25 cup vegetable oil into a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat for 90 seconds until it shimmers and slides quickly when you tilt the pan.
- 12
Add the Sichuan peppercorns and the red chili pieces to the hot oil, then stir constantly for 30 seconds until they smell deeply fragrant and toasted.
- 13
Pour in 3 tablespoons soy sauce and 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, then remove the pan from heat immediately and stir once.
- 14
Add the minced garlic to the warm oil and stir once to combine, so the garlic begins to soften and release its aroma.
- 15
Pour the entire chili oil mixture (including all the peppercorns, chilis, and garlic) evenly over the sliced beef on the plate in a thin stream.
- 16
Scatter the sliced scallions in a thin line across the center of the beef.
- 17
Serve immediately while the oil is still warm and the beef is cool, so the contrast of temperatures brings out the flavors.
Tools you’ll need
- medium pot
- cutting board
- paper towels
- chef's knife or slicing knife
- wooden spoon
- tongs
- small saucepan
- serving plate
- spoon for stirring
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