Stir Fry Szechuan Beef

Have you ever wondered how Szechuan Beef Stir Fry that you order at a Chinese Resto cooked?  It's not really that difficult.  Actually, the procedure is quite easy for anyone to follow even for a novice in the kitchen.

Szechuan cuisine originated in Sichuan, China.  The name Sichuan means heavenly country.  It is aptly named for its abundant fresh produce from its fertile land.  It is well known that the people from that place gives importance to good flavor and spicy dishes.  This was even mentioned in one ancient Chinese writing.  According to a culinary expert, there should be 7 flavors present in a szechuan dish --- sour, pungent, hot, sweet, bitter, aromatic and salty.  (wikipedia)

There are many variation of this dish.  In this recipe, I decided to add babycorns and snow peas to add more veggie flavor to the szechuan.  I also added a bit of sugar because I love the sweet taste battling with the hotness of the dish.  I also added sesame seeds to add more texture to it.

Ingredients
500 g beef, strips
4 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp szechuan peppercorn (if you cannot find this, just add a little bit more of chilli flakes)
4 stalks of spring onions, cut into 2 inches long
1 tsp plain flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 capsicum, strips
1 carrot, strips
200 g snow peas

Procedure
Marinade the beef strips with soy sauce, 2 tsp sesame oil, sugar and flour. 
Stir fry the veggies with the sesame oil, garlic, chilli flakes and ginger.  Remove from fire.
Stir fry the beef strips.
Return the veggies to the pan and stir them together with the beef.
Put in the spring onions and sesame seeds.
Serve.

A comment or two will be appreciated...