Stir-fried beef with bitter melon and zha cai

Cut the beef into thin slabs, stack the slabs and julienne them thinly.

Marinate the beef with salt, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, baking soda and a drizzle of Chinese cooking wine.

Add a drizzle of cooking oil and mix to coat so the strips separate; set aside 15 minutes.

Cut the bitter melon in half, remove the white spongy part with a spoon and slice into thicker strips at a 45 degree angle.

Finely dice the garlic, julienne the deseeded red chili and cut the scallions into stalks.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add a big drizzle of oil and blanch the bitter melon 20 seconds; drain.

Heat the wok on high until smoking hot, drizzle in a generous amount of oil and swirl for a non-stick layer.

Add the marinated beef and loosen the strips with chopsticks; stir over high heat 1 to 2 minutes until the meat has changed colour.

Add the garlic, julienned red chili, zha cai and blanched bitter melon and stir over high heat 3 minutes to distribute the zha cai flavour.

No extra seasoning is needed because zha cai is very salty, but taste before serving as brands vary.

Toss in the scallion stalks and give a final mix.