Tangerine Peel Beef

[Priscilla]

Hello, denizens of the Chinese Cuisine forum:

I would like to make Tangerine Peel Beef. I don't mind essential sweetness, my favorite restaurant versions have had a judicious amount, balanced with red chile heat and intense tangerineyness. I have dried tangerine peel (from the last of my own Satsumas), very aromatic, which is what gave me this idea in the first place.

Light cornstarch marinade/coating for the beef prior to its initial frying, no?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

[Dejah]

I do the marinade with an egg, seasonings and orange zest (or orange essence), and an equal mixture of cornstarch and flour. This makes the meat pretty sticky. Then, I bread each piece with fine bread crumbs before deep frying. The beef is crispy on the outside but tender inside.

For the sauce, I just use vinegar, sugar, chun pei (juliennes of rehydrated tangerine peel - pith scraped off), whole and crushed dry chilis, and a touch of 5-spice powder. Bring to a boil, simmer, then thicken with cornstarch slurry.

I usually have all the ingredients for the sauce simmering in a wok as I deep fry the beef. Once the meat is ready, thicken the sauce and toss in the beef to coat.

Don't drench the meat in copious amount of sauce unless you like it like that. Put some of the sauce aside in a dish and add more if needed. I like sauce and crispiness in my orange beef.

I still have large bottles of orange flavouring from my restaurant days. Sometimes the tangerine peel just doesn't give enough punch. I used the flavouring more when orange beef was on the buffet.

[Priscilla]

Dejah, that sounds wonderful, thank you so much.

Sauce and crispness, that is it, the crust just beginning to respond to the sauce a little.

What kind of vinegar, black?

[Dejah]

Dejah, that sounds wonderful, thank you so much.

Sauce and crispness, that is it, the crust just beginning to respond to the sauce a little.

What kind of vinegar, black?

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I just use ordinary white vinegar. Maybe others use rice vinegar, black vingar, but the main flavour you want to stand out is orange.

Edited to add:

Check post 749 in the Chinese Eats at Home thread, Priscilla. I made the ginger beef, but my orange beef looks like that...except orange flavoured.

Edited February 6, 2007 by Dejah (log)

[Priscilla]

OK, I looked., Wow, I can hope mine bears a passing resemblance.

And yay on the vinegar question, because that means I already have everything!

Thanks again, Dejah.

[leviathan]

Is there any reason why you're using the whole tangerine peel, and not just using a grater to get the zest of the peel?

[Priscilla]

What I have is pithless zest from tangerines, removed with a veg peeler.

The dried orange and tangerine peels I have seen in Asian stores seem to have pith left on, but Dejah covers removing that in her instructions.

[Dejah]

Is there any reason why you're using the whole tangerine peel, and not just using a grater to get the zest of the peel?

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The tangerine peel that I buy and use is dried. We can't always get fresh tangerines. It is also said that the older the dried peel, the more flavour. My mom had always saved her peelings, dried and stored in a glass jar. The bags one buys in the store are nothing compared to the fragrance of her stash.

Unfortunately, she hasn't been collecting for years, and this unworthy daughter hasn't kept up the tradition.

[jmolinari]

Is it possible to make tangerine beef without deep frying?

jason

[Dejah]

Is it possible to make tangerine beef without deep frying?

jason

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It all depends on whether you want crispy beef or stir-fried.

With ginger beef, you can stir-fry the beef with lots of fresh ginger and green onions - or as I did in post 749 of the Chinese eats at home thread. So, I suppose you can do the same with orange beef - stir-fry with orange zest and orange segments, or per recipe above.

You just have to remember that they are different dishes!

I was in a restaurant once, and assumed ginger beef to mean spicy, crispy ginger beef. I was quite shocked when it came out stir-fried!

[jo-mel]

When clementines come into season, I make a new batch of dried peels ----- to go with the peels of years past. Most of the clementines have a nice thin skin with very very little pith -- if any -- on them. I dry them on a radiator and in a few hours they are ready. I give them away to people in my classes, too.

[ludja]

Is it possible to make tangerine beef without deep frying?

jason

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I have no idea if it is traditional or not, but I've seen a recipe for "tangerine beef skewers" that are grilled. You marinate beef strips in a basic marinade made with soy sauce, vinegar, rice wine, sugar and pepper to which you add a tangerine- or orange-chile oil.

[leviathan]

The tangerine peel that I buy and use is dried. We can't always get fresh tangerines. It is also said that the older the dried peel, the more flavour.

Couldn't you just use an orange like somebody suggested? And, is there a special process for drying them, if you don't have a radiator?

[Dejah]

The tangerine peel that I buy and use is dried. We can't always get fresh tangerines. It is also said that the older the dried peel, the more flavour.

Couldn't you just use an orange like somebody suggested? And, is there a special process for drying them, if you don't have a radiator?

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Yes, you certainly can use an orange, but the variety that was used in the original and still preferred today, is the Chinese Mandarin orange. These oranges are not available all year round, and may not be available to some of us at all. So, we save the peelings when we do get to enjoy them.

You don't have to have a radiator. I turn the pieces inside out, single layer them in a basket, place in a well ventilated place, and let them dry out. It's good if you remove the pith before drying.

You can also buy packages of dried peels in Asian stores.

[bluesman13]

I love orange peel beef. I've always felt (after years of trying different dishes at home), that there are some dishes that I just get at a restaurant. Orange Peel beef is one of those dishes. It's usually the deep frying that I try to avoid. But, since this dish seems to vary so much from restaurant to restaurant, it took a while to find the version that I like. But, it seems that the quality of the beef varies from place to place. The flank steak in some places is pretty tough and chewy (which I don't like), but i do like the combination of sweet, sour, salty, and sweet (yes, just like the cookbook)!

But, after reading this, I don't know... I think I might try it...

Thanks so much for posting your recipe...

Edited February 8, 2007 by bluesman13 (log)

[hzrt8w]

Couldn't you just use an orange like somebody suggested? And, is there a special process for drying them, if you don't have a radiator?

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I found that orange peels are not that suitable to be dried and used for Chinese cooking. The skin is too thick, with too much pith.

Tangerine peels work the best. You can probably use Mandarin peels too.

[Dejah]

Couldn't you just use an orange like somebody suggested? And, is there a special process for drying them, if you don't have a radiator?

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I found that orange peels are not that suitable to be dried and used for Chinese cooking. The skin is too thick, with too much pith.

Tangerine peels work the best. You can probably use Mandarin peels too.

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The fragrance of regular oranges is not the same as chun pei. hzrt calls them tangerines, but I seldom see them labelled as such. Here, they just call them Chinese oranges. They are bigger than the Christmas Japanese/Mandarin oranges, and the peel is not "attached" to the orange segments. They are very easy to peel - and save.

[miladyinsanity]

Okay, since CNY is here, and I'm sure I can find some use for the peel, do I just stick the peel in oven at very low temperatures?

Or can I dry it in the sun?

[Dejah]

Okay, since CNY is here, and I'm sure I can find some use for the peel, do I just stick the peel in oven at very low temperatures?

Or can I dry it in the sun?

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You could leave it spread out on a window ledge, away from moisture, or it will get moldy.

[Ben Hong]

Best place I know for drying small things is on top of the fridge, near the back.

[hzrt8w]

Or in the back of your big plasma TV.

(Just kidding)

[miladyinsanity]

Actually, I do have a big plasma TV.

I'm just afraid that if I try that, or the fridge, my mother will stick her only daughter, whom she thinks is crazy for eating raw cake and cookie batter (I do this in front of her only when she thinks there's not enough sugar or something), in the lunatic asylum.

Dejah, I'll do that! It's awful hot here come CNY!