Beef and Black Bean Sauce

I'm not a foodie but I'm on a recipe rampage this week. I would like to share with you my all-time favorite recipe. I live a few years with a Chinese family so I love "real" Chinese food. The recipe is taken from Cook's Library Wok & Stir-Fry, I won't take the credit for it. It takes about 3hrs for the marinade to work its magic but I usually leave it overnight.

Ingredients

1 ¼ cup vegetable oil
300g beef steak strips
1 scallion (I call them green onions)
a few slices of fresh gingerroot
1-2 small fresh green or red chiles, seeded and sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and sliced

Marinade

½ tsp baking soday or baking powder
½ tsp sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp Chinese rice wine, dry sherry or white vinegar
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp sesame oil

To make the marinade, mix together all the ingredients in a shallow dish. Add the beef, turn to coat and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours.

Heat the vegetable oil in a preheated wok or large, heavy-based skillet. Add the beef and cook for about 1 minute, or until seared. Remove the beef with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Keep warm and set aside.

Pour all but 1 tbs of oil from the wok. Add the scallion, ginger, chiles, onion, and green bell pepper and cook for about 1 minute.

Add the black bean sauce and stir until smooth. Return the beef to the wok, stir well and cook for another minute. Transfer the stir-fry to a warm serving dish and serve hot.