Every homemade Beijing Beef recipe I've tried turns soggy the moment you sauce it. But Panda's stays crunchy for hours, even under a heat lamp. This bothered me enough to pull their official ingredient list and figure out why. Turns out every recipe online gets the sauce wrong, the breading wrong, and misses two aromatic infusions completely, so I reverse-engineered every industrial ingredient with grocery store equivalents. This recipe makes enough for two batches, so the second time you want this, dinner takes about ten minutes.
Download the full recipe document here:
https://jasonfarmer.com/panda-express-beijing-beef-reverse-engineered/
Wanna learn how to make Chinese Takeout Orange Chicken at home? Watch this next:
https://youtu.be/AtqIlbxdf4s
Main ingredients for this Beijing Beef (affiliate links):
Better Than Bouillon Roasted Beef Base: https://geni.us/6UimN
Cornstarch: https://geni.us/NTH4v4
Rice Flour: https://geni.us/37Mqw
AP Flour: https://geni.us/uTx9j
Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder: https://geni.us/1IgmeHW
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: https://amzn.to/4b1MWVK
Dark Corn Syrup: https://geni.us/AxLW
Tomato Paste: https://geni.us/KybDV
Distilled White Vinegar: https://geni.us/y0uABJ
Citric Acid: https://geni.us/7sO7SvH
Xanthan Gum: https://geni.us/wApZYJk
MSG (Aji-No-Moto): https://geni.us/FV5mIa
Chinese Light Soy Sauce: https://geni.us/nFPBom1
Beef Tallow: https://geni.us/zrMX8un
White Pepper: https://geni.us/R56diCi
Baking Soda: https://geni.us/2Apujc
Granulated Sugar: https://geni.us/eoYr
Vegetable Oil: https://geni.us/gUOEeub
Kitchen equipment for this Beijing Beef (affiliate links):
14-inch Mandarin Wok: https://geni.us/yppwqb
Made In Cast Iron Wok (for deep frying): https://madeincookware.pxf.io/c/5642915/1533155/14569
Made In 5 quart Saucier: https://madeincookware.pxf.io/jeM97Z
Deep Fry / Candy Thermometer: https://geni.us/GDqv
Butane Burner: https://geni.us/yXYxEf9
Butane Canisters: https://geni.us/g4u9oM
Induction Burner: https://geni.us/mOpIF
Wok Ladle: https://geni.us/AQmlKP
Wok Spider: https://geni.us/wWiuCeV
Glass Mixing Bowls: https://geni.us/elrv
Whisk: https://geni.us/D46KsN
Big Chef’s Spoon: https://geni.us/q7AC
Smaller Chef’s Spoon: https://geni.us/Xm9qc
Wire Rack: https://geni.us/AC3NBh
Baking Sheet: https://geni.us/KJQxnsf
Microplane Grater (for ginger): https://geni.us/OMDdq
Large Mixing Bowls: https://geni.us/jXax3
Wusthof Utility Knife: https://geni.us/UWaMXlL
Cutting Board: https://geni.us/zIWbTB
Deli Containers: https://geni.us/rJXoK
Measuring Spoons: https://geni.us/Fe7U4M
Anchor Glass Ramekins: https://geni.us/Jplij
John Boo’s Work Station: https://geni.us/XZXk
Music by Epidemic Sound (free 30-day trial! Affiliate link):
https://share.epidemicsound.com/v23gld
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:28 Why every recipe gets the sauce wrong
1:07 The three sweeteners Panda uses (and the one that replaces all three)
1:30 Phosphoric acid and the Coca-Cola connection
1:50 What the hell is Xanthan gum?
2:11 Making the sweet and sour base
3:19 Why the beef arrives frozen at Panda Express
4:04 Slicing the flank steak
4:22 Better Than Bouillon: the glutamate-nucleotide marinade system
5:47 Why cornstarch alone fails
6:30 Non-fat dry milk powder
6:57 The Triple-Flour Blend
7:15 The Egg White Binder
7:40 Why Beef Tallow?
8:08 Breading the beef
8:29 Fry 1: The blanch
8:55 The freeze (and why it's the most important step)
9:55 The garlic ginger infusion
10:59 The chili flakes oil technique
11:56 Fry 2: The crisp
12:32 Final wok cooking
13:18 The alleged history of Beijing Beef
14:15 Taste test
Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, Jason Farmer may earn commissions from qualifying purchases from amazon.com
Special thanks:
redgroupclan - for the recipe help
romriguez - for the fortune cookie joke. that still makes me laugh.
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