Steamed Beef with Rice Powder — 粉蒸牛肉 Fen Zheng Niu Rou

Traditionally, you do not eat beef at this banquet. Cows plowed the fields. You kill the cow, who is going to plant next year? You only ate beef if the cow was too old to work.

But my son is 12. He is American. He wants beef. So I updated the tradition. My ancestors, please forgive me.

The secret to this dish is homemade rice powder. You can buy it at the store, but homemade is so much better. You toast the rice with whole spices until golden, then grind it — but not too fine. You want some texture, little bits of crunch mixed into the tender beef.

And the real treasure? The sweet potato at the bottom. My son told me last time: Mom, the sweet potato is better than the beef. I said, you just figured that out? The base is always the treasure. Dian Di. Solid foundation.

Ingredients

For the homemade rice powder:

• 1/3 cup regular rice
• 1/3 cup glutinous rice
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 star anise
• 3 bay leaves
• 4 cloves

For the beef:

• 500g (1.1 lbs) beef tenderloin or flank, sliced thick
• 2 small blocks fermented tofu (the small cubes from the jar)
• 4g sugar
• 1/2 tbsp chili powder (optional — skip if you do not like spicy)
• 2 tbsp fermented glutinous rice wine (Lao Zao)
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 3g Sichuan peppercorn powder
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2g baking soda

For assembly:

• 1 sweet potato, cut into chunks
• 120g water
• 30g cooking oil
• 2 tbsp minced garlic (for garnish)
• 2 tbsp cilantro (for garnish)
• 3 tbsp green onions (for garnish)

Directions

1. Soak the beef. Slice the beef and soak in cold water for 10 minutes to get the blood out. Drain well.
2. Tenderize and marinate. Mix the baking soda into the beef first — this breaks down the fibers and makes the meat tender. Then add the fermented tofu, sugar, chili powder, rice wine, cooking wine, ginger, Sichuan peppercorn powder, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Mix well and marinate for at least 1 hour.
3. Make the rice powder. Toast the regular rice and glutinous rice with star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and cloves in a dry wok over low heat. Keep stirring. When the rice turns golden and smells toasty, remove the whole spices. Let the rice cool, then grind in a blender. Do not grind it into fine powder — you want coarse sand texture with little bits of crunch.
4. Combine. Mix the toasted rice powder into the marinated beef, a little at a time. Add 120g of water and mix until absorbed — this keeps the beef from drying out during steaming. Then mix in 30g of cooking oil.
5. Assemble. Place sweet potato chunks at the bottom of a steaming bowl. Pile the coated beef on top.
6. Steam over high heat for 1 hour. When it comes out, garnish with minced garlic, cilantro, and green onions.

Chinese Mom Tips

Why sweet potato and not regular potato? Sweet potatoes release natural sugars as they steam. The sweetness balances the spicy, salty beef perfectly. Plus, sweet potatoes hold their shape — regular potatoes turn to mush after an hour of steaming.

Why add water to the beef before steaming? The rice powder absorbs a lot of moisture. Without extra water, the beef will dry out during the long steam. The water gets absorbed into the rice powder, keeping everything moist and tender.

Why add baking soda? Just a tiny bit of baking soda breaks down the protein fibers in the beef, making it noticeably more tender after steaming. Do not add more than 2g — too much will give the meat a weird slippery texture and an off taste.