Simmering Time 1 hour | Soaking Time Overnight

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

• 150 gwagyu beef fillet, thinly sliced

• ¼onion, cut into wedges

• 2 garlic cloves, sliced

• 150 gfresh soft rice noodles

• 3 headschoy sum, cut into 4 cm lengths

• ¼ cupbean sprouts

• 1 spring onion, thinly sliced on an angle

• 1 long fresh red chilli, julienned

XO chilli sauce

• 50 g dried squid

• 50 g dried anchovy

• 50 g dried shrimp

• 50 g dried scallops (soaked in water overnight and drained)

• 500 ml(2 cups) vegetable oil

• 100 g garlic, finely chopped

• 250 ml (1 cup) oyster sauce

• 40 g sugar

• 25 g fresh birds eye chilli

• 50 ml chilli oil

• 1 tbsp chilli flakes

• 100 g fried red Asian shallots

METHOD

For the XO chilli sauce, preheat a char-grill or grill plate to medium-high. Grill the dried squid until crisp. Scrape off any charred parts with a sharp knife.

In a food processor, blitz the squid, anchovy, scallops and shrimp until finely chopped.

Heat a large wok or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and garlic and cook just until golden, then add the seafood mixture, oyster sauce and sugar. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes and skimming all the impurities off the top. To finish, add the bird's eye chilli, chilli oil, chilli flakes and fried shallots and stir again. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat. When piping hot, add half the oil, then add the beef and sear until it has a nice deep brown colour. Remove the beef from the wok and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the wok and sauté the onion and garlic over high heat for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Add the noodles and stir-fry for 1 minute or until charred in colour. Add 80 ml (⅓ cup) XO sauce and toss to coat the noodles. Add the choy sum and bean sprouts and stir-fry for another minute. Return the beef back to the wok, toss to combine, then serve immediately, scattered with spring onion and chilli.

Note
•The XO sauce recipe makes more than you need for this recipe but it is a great condiment to have on hand and will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month. The dried seafood, chilli oil and fried shallots are readily available from Asian grocers.