Tender beef strips and vegetables in a rich black bean sauce. Stir-frying is a great way to make a little red meat stretch a long way.

1 cup long-grain rice

3 tablespoons black bean sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine

2 teaspoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil

12 oz (360 g) lean beef—cut into thin strips along the grain

12 green beans—ends trimmed and cut in ½ on the diagonal

1 red pepper—juliened

1 onion—cut into 8 wedges and separated into pieces

3 cloves garlic—minced (crushed)

2 teaspoons finely grated ginger

1½ cups beef stock

1½ tablespoons cornstarch mixed to a paste with 1½ tablespoons water

COOK the rice. MIX together the black bean and soy sauces, Chinese rice wine, sugar and pepper in a bowl. HEAT a wok or large frying pan over a high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and stir-fry the beef for 5 minutes. REMOVE the beef from the wok and set aside on a plate. HEAT the remaining oil in the wok and stir-fry the greens beans, red pepper and onion for 7 minutes. ADD the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for another minute, then return the beef to the wok. ADD the sauce mixture and stock, then add the cornstarch paste and cook, stirring continuously, until thickened. SERVE on a bed of rice.

Variation: This black bean sauce also goes well with chicken, lean pork, squid, shrimp or bite-sized pieces of firm white fish.

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