Trinity chefs: Bobby Pi’s beef in cumin sauce

STUDENT reporters Allyson Long, Luhan Yang, and Ulan Manaloto go in search for Trinity College Foundation Studies’ top chefs to bring you their favourite dishes you can whip up at home in a flash. In the second of this three part recipe series, they bring you Bobby Pi’s beef in cumin sauce.

Bobby from China plates up a traditional dish with a twist. Photo: Luhan Yang

Beef in Cumin Sauce by Bobby Pi

Bobby Pi is from Sichuan in southwestern China, a region known for its “tongue-numbing” spicy cuisine. While beef with cumin sauce originated from north-western China, with a love for cooking and a bit of creativity, Bobby has adapted the dish and added his own Szechuan flourish. The end result is a dish that packs a punch, both in flavour as well as heat. He shares his recipe.

Ingredients

300g onions
30g garlic
30g ginger
200g chilli
500g beef
50g chilli powder
50g cumin
Salt, to taste
Oil, for frying

Method

Mince or finely chop the ginger, onions, garlic and chilli. Next, blanch the beef in boiling water, drain, then cut into slices.

In a medium-sized pan, heat up the oil, add the beef slices and sauté on high heat. Set aside, leaving the remaining oil in the pan.

Photo: Luhan Yang

Add your finely chopped or minced onion, garlic, chilli and ginger to the pan and fry until fragrant, before returning the sautéed beef to the pan.

Add the chilli powder and cumin, and fry till the beef is cooked through.

Serve on a plate and garnish with sesame if you wish.