My family have always enjoyed the "beef and black bean" dishes in Chinese restaurants and I have never felt the courage to attempt to replicate it before. Until I saw this simple method in a Donna Hay cookbook - a classy idea of roasting top of the shelf eye fillet and making a simple black bean sauce to accompany with lots of fresh ginger and garlic. Turning the dish into a treat and worthy of any special dinner party.
Pictured: Roasted Eye Fillet of Beef with Black Bean Sauce
600g beef fillet trimmed
3 garlic, grated
3 tsp ginger, grated
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp veg oil
¼ cup chopped salted black beans – small tins sold in Asian stores
2 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tbsp water
1 bunch Chinese vegetables- baby bok choy, gai lan, trimmed and blanch if large stems
Preheat oven to 200 °C.
Marinate the beef – place in a non reactive dish and rub with the garlic, ginger, pepper, oil, and black beans - marinade 30 mins. Scrape the marinade off the beef and reserve - pan fry each side of the beef on high heat to brown all sides.
Remove the beef to an oven proof dish – not too small and snug - bake 15 minutes for rare to med rare.
Add reserved marinade to the pan you browned the beef in and fry gently 1 minute - add soy and water then place the vegetable of choice in the sauce to cook a few minutes to your liking.
Rest the beef 10 minutes – add the sauce and vegetables over and around.
Slice beef, and serve with plain steamed rice.
Serves 4
Pictured: Salted Black Beans