Sichuan Water-Boiled Beef (Shuizhu Niurou, 水煮牛肉)

Chengdu Challenge #12: A Sichuan Outlaw

水煮 (shuǐzhǔ), or “water-boiled” dishes, may be Sichuan’s most notorious food—feared and loved in equal measure. Shuizhu’s reputation as a dish for the daring precedes it. But those brave enough to dip into its sea of málà—chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorn—to fish out a piece of buttery soft beef (or pork, or fish) are rewarded with the realization that shuizhu is not nearly as lethal as its reputation.

It was a shocking sight the first time I saw Chef Qing Qing make 水煮牛肉 (shuǐzhǔ niúròu), water-boiled beef, at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine, back in 2009. He knew it was, and he put in a performance worthy  of the bad guy in a classic Western movie, piling on the pain with a sinister grin—more and more chili bean paste (doubanjiang), dried red chili peppers and Sichuan pepper—until it seemed the gunslinger would surely win and the travelers I had brought to the cooking class would surely run for their lives.

First he made the crowning glory of the dish, scorching literally dozens of small red chili peppers and heaping spoonfuls of Sichuan peppercorns in a wok until nose-tinglingly fragrant. Out they came to a cutting board, where he proceeded to mince them into a heap of hotness, the giant cleaver rocking back and forth between his hands gripping it at either end.

Roasted chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns deliver authentic mala burn; use an amount and mix of chilies that suits your desired heat level

The hardest part of this easy shuizhu recipe is mincing the chilies and Sichuan pepper. A food processor also works!

He then wokked some mild green vegetables—celery, baby leeks and leafy greens—as the “bed” of the dish and put them in a large bowl. Next came the part that gives shuizhu—literally “water-boiled”—its misnomer. He boiled some stock with a generous helping of doubanjiang before adding the thin slices of beef to the broth, cooking them just until done and then adding it all to the waiting bowl.

The bottom of the bowl is layered with celery, green onions and a leafy green such as celtuce leaves, A-choy or romaine lettuce, as I used here

Make a bed of quickly stir-fried crispy greens in the serving bowl

In the final step, the outlaw chef dumped the minced chilies and peppercorns onto the top of the bowl and doused it with a cup of heated cooking oil, sending the mala mixture into a sizzling frenzy and further toasting it to give it that incomparably Sichuan scorched chili taste.

The crowning touch of hot oil…

…sends the mala into a sizzling frenzy and produces toasty chili goodness

Then he invited us to taste it.

I gingerly dipped my chopsticks into the fiery broth to retrieve a piece of tender, melting beef and prepared myself for the worst, even though I love mala. But just as in the classic Westerns, the bad guy turned out to have a heart of gold, and shuizhu turned out to be just the right amount of spicy, tingly, thrilling hot.

Oh, yeah. Shuizhu is notorious. But like the Doc Holliday* of Sichuan food, it doesn’t have to come out guns a-blazing; its reputation alone guarantees its outlaw allure.

Would you believe me if I said it’s not as scary as it looks? It’s really not! You pluck that tender, spicy beef and crispy veg out of the killer broth and oil to eat it

Further notes on shuizhu dishes:

• Shuizhu dishes go by many translations in Sichuan restaurants in the U.S.: water-cooked pork, beef in spicy broth, fish in red soup, etc. My personal favorite, as spotted in Seattle: Swimming Fire Fish. If in doubt, ask if it’s shuizhu (“shway ju”).
• You can make this recipe with good quality beef, pork loin, or white fish. One of my favorite renditions is shuizhuyu (fish) made with mackerel and soft, Chinese-style tofu. Whichever protein you use, do not overcook it, as meltingly tender texture is the goal.
• The kind of chili pepper you use is all-important to the heat level. In Sichuan, they use a medium-hot pepper such as  zidantou facing heaven chili or denglongjiao lantern chili. That way they can pile on the chilies without piling on the pain. If you want it a bit milder you could use erjingtiao, and if you want it punishingly hot try xiaomila. Or a mix of all three!
• The finishing bath in hot oil is a must. Heat a neutral oil until hot, but not smoking. I find that 1/2 cup is the ideal minimum for authenticity, but you can use less if you like. [When I first published this recipe (2015), it was next to impossible to source Sichuan’s roasted rapeseed oil (caiziyou) in the U.S., but now that we import it for The Mala Market, I highly recommend using this toasty oil for another deep layer of flavor.]
• Do not pour the oily broth onto your personal bowl or plate. Do as the Sichuanese do and pluck the tender meat and crispy vegetables out of the killer broth, or spoon small amounts onto your rice.

(*An Old West gambler and gunfighter, who may or may not be an ancestor of mine…)

This recipe was updated and revised in April 2023. 

If you’re looking for shuizhu fish, read more at Water-Boiled Fish With Tofu (Shuizhuyu, 水煮鱼)!

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Sichuan Water-Boiled Beef (Shuizhu Niurou, 水煮牛肉)

Adapted from

Sichuan (China) Cuisine in Both Chinese and English, published in China in 2010 by the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine and the Sichuan Gourmet Association.

Taylor Holliday | The Mala Market

Ingredients

• 2 dozen (or more) moderately hot dried red chilies such as zidantou facing heaven chilies or lantern chilies (use erjingtiao for milder heat and xiaomila for extra hot)
• 1 tablespoon (or more) dahongpao Sichuan peppercorns (or Sichuan Tribute pepper)
• ¾ pound high-quality beef such as rib-eye or flank steak cut in thin slices, about ⅛-inch thick 340 grams
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 1 tablespoon Chinese light soy sauce (Zhongba preferred)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 2 to 3 celery stalks, cut into thin strips 3 inches x ¼ inch, leaves set aside for garnish
• 6 to 8 green onions, cut into thin strips
• 1 small head romaine lettuce, torn into large pieces (or A-choy or the leafy tops of celtuce)
• ½ cup Sichuan roasted rapeseed oil (caiziyou) (or neutral cooking oil)
• 3 cups chicken stock (or water)
• 3 tablespoons aged Pixian doubanjiang (chili bean paste)
• 1 tablespoon Chinese light soy sauce (Zhongba preferred)
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon MSG (optional)

Instructions

• Heat wok until hot. Add 1 tablespoon oil and lower heat. When oil is just hot, add whole chilies and Sichuan peppercorns and toss and toast until partially browned and super fragrant. Be careful not to burn them. Remove to a cutting board to cool off, then mince with a knife into small flakes. Alternatively, mince in a food processor.
• Place sliced beef in a bowl, fill with water and gently massage the beef, washing away the impurities. Wash beef until water runs fairly clear. Drain the water and mix the beef slices with 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, baking soda and corn starch. Marinate for at least 15 minutes.
• Wipe out wok, return to heat until just starting to smoke, add 1 tablespoon oil and heat until hot. Add celery and green onion and stir-fry until celery is beginning to soften. Add romaine lettuce and stir-fry very briefly, just enough to break the rawness. Salt lightly and remove the greens to a large serving bowl.
• In a small saucepan, heat ½ cup oil until hot and just on the edge of smoking. Let it heat up slowly while you finish the dish.
• Add the stock to the wok over high heat along with the doubanjiang, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, salt and MSG. Bring to a boil and add marinated beef. Lower heat and gently simmer beef until just done. Pour the entire contents of the wok on top of the waiting bowl of vegetables.
• Top the meat with the minced chilies and Sichuan pepper. Do not stir. Carefully pour the hot oil over the chilies and watch them sizzle. Garnish with celery leaves and/or cilantro. Serve with rice.

Notes

Note that the oily broth is not meant to be eaten like a soup or stew. Diners should not ladle it onto their bowl or plate. They should pluck the meat and vegetables out with chopsticks as the Chinese do, or spoon out the solids with small amounts of sauce onto their individual rice bowls.