Chinese-style beef with vegetables

We won’t spend too long debating whether this beef is or isn’t Chinese-style. The way some people are debating today whether the virus is Chinese or not. In my humble opinion, that virus is now a fully fledged citizen of the world. All it has shown is that today’s world has no borders, however much we might want them. This beef, however, is Chinese-style, because every time I make it, I remember all those days I spent in China.

Ask me why Americans are debating whether to call it a Chinese virus or simply coronavirus, and I’ll tell you a short story I think I’ve mentioned here before. In 1999 — a very long time ago, in the previous century — my friends and I were travelling on a ship full of Chinese passengers. To Wuhan, as it happens. Apart from us, there was only one tourist on board, a Chinese tourist. The remaining roughly 600 passengers regarded this Yangtze river voyage as transport from A to B. Those were days when Chinese people had limited freedom to travel, not much money to do it with, and not much inclination either. For us, it was a cruise to see the Three Gorges of the Yangtze at the last moment before they were flooded. For them, apart from that one tourist, it could have been an ordinary journey to work. One that took 3 days.

But that wasn’t the point of the story. On this ship, there was a little room with a machine pretending to be an air conditioner. In China, in the middle of summer, particularly around the Yangtze, it can be appallingly hot and humid. So we used the room, assuming that, as passengers, we could sit there for free. It turned out we were wrong. Towards the end of the day, the staff told us, largely through gestures, that this pleasure had to be paid for. We decided to stand our ground and refuse, arguing — with help from the one Chinese tourist, who spoke some English — that nobody had told us sitting there without buying anything would cost money. It turned into quite a row. The entire ship’s staff was woken up, including the policeman and the captain. To bring this story into harbour, after almost an hour of this, the captain finally told us we had to pay and wouldn’t be allowed to leave unless we did.

At this point, I should add that this was a time when the Chinese already knew they had been awarded the 2008 Olympic Games, and the whole country was celebrating. They were enormously proud. We decided to use that as ammunition. In response to the captain’s words, we informed him that of course we’d pay for sitting in the hut with its pretend air conditioning, but we’d also tell the Olympic Committee in Geneva how foreigners were treated in China, supplying the ship’s number and the names of the entire crew. A little innocent joke from us 20-year-olds. But it worked. We were apologised to, didn’t have to pay, and were the most important guests on that tub for the next two days, on the sole condition that we never told anyone what had happened on this particular Chinese ship. The Chinese really don’t like being reported, and they’re very afraid of it. Why do you think that is?

So in America, some people want to report that it’s a Chinese virus, and others don’t. Can you guess which people want to and which don’t? Here, meanwhile, I can’t get over how our state helped our beloved elderly yesterday. Or “their beloved elderly”, since they’re the ones saying it. Special shopping hours for older people have been introduced. Look at that: during an epidemic, the state, through the mouths of those pretending to govern us, has issued a message to people over 65 that going shopping IS SAFE! I’m now waiting for senior-only hours in LIFTS 🙂

We’ve had a laugh. Now I’d like to be serious for a moment. It seems to me that over recent decades, Europe has moved towards a model, a paradigm, in which the state plays a supporting role for the citizen. Here, that began taking shape after ’89. However bureaucratic the European Union may be, its actions aim towards a situation in which the state helps and supports its citizens, its residents. We can argue about how that idea is implemented, of course, but that was the idea, and probably still is. Importantly, I say “citizens” because I mean everyone living and working in a country, not just people with roots there. That’s why a Pole can go to Portugal, for example — let’s not say Germany this time — buy a flat, work, walk the dog and do all those other everyday things 🙂

That idea is very close to my heart. Just as the virus has shown itself to be a citizen of the world, I dream of a model in which every person is one too, while the state maintains peace and order and helps when someone needs it, or even requires it in particular circumstances. Unfortunately, what I’ve been observing lately is movement in the opposite direction. Towards a model in which the nation, not the citizen, plays a supporting role for the state. We are supposed to take responsibility for the state and our fellow nationals and support its existence, because under this doctrine the state is the superior entity. Lovely, isn’t it? A splendid model, exceptionally convenient for the state — read: whoever owned the state at the time — in the Middle Ages. But now?

Right, this is where it gets serious. Hold on. I had a dream.

Yes, I had a dream. I dreamed I lived in a state that cared for its citizens. Not one telling my parents that shopping between 10 and 12 is completely safe, and that they can shop at other times too if they like. A state with an app like Uber Eats, through which I could order reasonably priced meals for my parents, safely delivered by a member of the Territorial Defence Forces. They could even order for themselves: Dad can cast a YouTube video from his phone to the television, that clever chap. A state where the same forces delivered a basic food and hygiene package to every older or ill person, paid for with a fraction of the pension or benefit they’d spend on food anyway. That would give some restaurants a basic source of funding through this difficult time. A state where families of young working people living with their parents or grandparents — older people in general — could move into the hotels currently standing empty. The state would thereby support the hotel industry, on terms allowing it to survive rather than make boom-time profits. A state that didn’t hold a daily press conference comparing us with other countries, telling us how much better things are here and building yet more walls.

So yes, I had a dream. It was much longer than that, but it wore me out terribly. Do you know why?

…

Exactly. We need something to eat. This time, I recommend a very safe Chinese meal.

At a glance:

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Serves: perhaps 2, perhaps 3

Calories: 你在這裡不問我，開車更好

Ingredients for Chinese-style beef, or perhaps Thai-style — Asian-style, anyway:

• 300 g beef (I used eye of round)
• fresh vegetables (you don’t need all of them, and can generally choose what you like, but use at least 4–5 from this selection, with some firm and some soft: carrot, onion, shallot, hot and sweet peppers, raw cucumber, courgette, fresh chilli, radish, spring onion)
• mushrooms (not essential; use them or leave them out)
• garlic
• jasmine rice
• dark soy sauce
• Thai spice blend (ginger, coriander, cumin, chilli, lemongrass, turmeric, fenugreek). I use a blend from Kotányi. This isn’t an advert. It’s good; I recommend it.
• vegetable oil 
• freshly ground black pepper
• sugar
• salt

How to make quick Chinese takeaway-style beef at home:

This recipe is quick and very simple. You just need to wash and peel or clean the ingredients, such as the vegetables and mushrooms, then stand by the frying pan or wok for a bit and stir. Most importantly, have everything ready beforehand. Once you’ve chosen the vegetables you want from the list — carrot, shallot, sweet pepper, spring onion and cucumber, for example — wash and cut them:

• soft ones, such as peppers or cucumber, into chunky pieces
• and firm ones, such as carrots, thinly 🙂

I haven’t specified how much of each ingredient to use, because you can choose that according to what you want and like. What matters is not making too large a batch. With stir-frying, there can’t be too many ingredients in the pan at once: they bring the cooking temperature down, and the dish may not turn out as full of flavour.

Before frying or preparing the vegetables, start by slicing the beef. To do it properly, you’ll need either a laser — got one? — or to have frozen your washed piece of beef beforehand and taken it out of the freezer 10–20 minutes before frying. As it begins to thaw, a very sharp knife will let you cut it with surgical precision into the very thin slices this dish needs.

Everything ready? Let’s begin. Heat the oil in a frying pan or wok over a high “flame”: 7–8 out of 9 on my induction hob. Add the pieces of beef and stir while adding salt, pepper and the first portion of the spice blend. When the meat loses its raw colour, you can start adding vegetables. Begin with the firmest: carrot and onion or shallot. I add a little sugar, half a teaspoon, and stir. Pour in a little soy sauce and stir. Roughly every minute or two, add another batch of vegetables, not too many so the wok doesn’t lose its heat, and stir. Add spices and a little more soy sauce, and stir… The soft vegetables go in last. If you’re using mushrooms, add them just after the carrot or onion. After roughly 7–10 minutes, the dish should be ready.

I serve it with jasmine rice. Voilà. Enjoy!