Beef Tenderloin Stir-Fried with King Oyster Mushroom Recipe | Chef Paul Wong's High-Heat Stir-Fry Secret: Tender Beef Without Baking Soda

In this episode, Chef Paul Wong shares a quick and easy home-style dish—Beef Tenderloin Stir-Fried with King Oyster Mushroom. This dish is not the sweet and sour Chinese-style beef tenderloin, but rather uses oyster sauce and light soy sauce to bring out a savory flavor, paired with hand-torn king oyster mushrooms for an excellent texture. The beef tenderloin is marinated with lemon juice instead of baking soda, making it healthy and tender. Want to know how to achieve wok hei? Watch on!

Beef Tenderloin Stir-Fried with King Oyster Mushroom Ingredients:

Beef tenderloin - 1 catty (600g)
King oyster mushrooms - 1–2
Ginger - 3 slices (shredded)
Minced garlic - 3 cloves (sliced)
Shallot - 1
Scallions - 2
Crushed black pepper - 1 tsp
Cooking wine (shaoxing) - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Oyster sauce - 1 tsp
Light soy sauce - 1/2 tsp
Dark soy sauce - 1 tsp
Cornstarch slurry - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Marinade:
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Light soy sauce - 2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1/2 tbsp
Cornstarch - 2 tsp
Oil - 1/2 tbsp

Instructions:

Remove tendons from beef tenderloin, cut into shreds (or slices) against the grain. Mix the marinade: first combine sugar, light soy sauce, and lemon juice, then add cornstarch and mix well. Finally, add oil to seal the surface and marinate for a while.
Do not cut the king oyster mushrooms with a knife; tear them into strips by hand. If too long, split them in half.
Dry-fry the king oyster mushrooms over high heat, sprinkle a little salt for base flavor, stir-fry until the surface releases moisture and becomes wet, then set aside.
Heat the wok with oil until smoking, stir-fry the beef tenderloin over high heat for about 1 minute. Remove from the wok when the surface is slightly raw.
Reduce to low heat, add a little oil, and sauté the shredded ginger, minced garlic, and shallot (add all three at the same time).
Add crushed black pepper and sauté together with the aromatics.
Return the king oyster mushrooms and beef tenderloin to the wok, turn to high heat and stir-fry quickly.
Splash cooking wine along the edge of the wok, add sugar, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce for seasoning, and stir-fry evenly.
Add scallion segments, drizzle in the cornstarch slurry, stir-fry quickly until the sauce thickens, then plate and serve.

Q: Why not marinate the beef tenderloin with baking soda?
A: Because lemon juice can replace baking soda. Although the effect is not as good as baking soda, it is healthier.

Q: Why tear the king oyster mushrooms by hand instead of cutting with a knife?
A: Because knife-cut king oyster mushrooms are not as tasty and lose their texture. Hand-torn ones have irregular shapes, similar to hand-torn chicken, giving a better texture.

Q: What is the secret to stir-frying beef tenderloin?
A: Be sure to stir-fry over high heat. The wok must be smoking before adding the beef. Stir-fry for about one minute and then remove from the wok. The surface should be slightly raw when removed. Never cook it through, so that the meat juices are locked in and the beef remains tender.

Timeline:
0:00 Introduction
0:13 Preparing beef tenderloin: removing tendons, slicing
0:28 Marinating beef tenderloin
0:43 Hand-tearing king oyster mushrooms
0:57 Dry-frying king oyster mushrooms over high heat
1:25 Stir-frying beef tenderloin
1:41 Sautéing aromatics
1:55 Returning to wok, quick stir-fry and seasoning
2:18 Plating