Satiny Sweet & Sour Beef Liver & Wheat

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Cooking The Dark Side ...

Easy, simple and homely. Deftly jazz up boring old beef liver with soy sauce, lemon juice, ginger and basil into a surprisingly tasty dish for a healthy and no fuss midweek dinner. Pearled wheat simultaneously adds a rustic, high fibre element – almost like taking your colon for a midweek spa treatment.

Dredging the liver strips before hand in savoury flour contributes a lovely, silky element to the sauce at the end. Fresh lemon juice and grated ginger tames the native, metallic bitterness of beef liver while the basil, browned onions and spot of sugar adds a balancing sweetness to the whole performance.

Dried currants and a hint of bay leaf bring an intriguing dash of mystery to pearled wheat – which (lets be honest) by itself can do with all the help it can muster in the taste department. Replace the pearled wheat with mash if pressed for time.

The fine qualities & austere nature of beef liver was discussed in Beef Liver with Caramelized Onions & Balsamic Reduction. 

SATINY SWEET & SOUR BEEF LIVER & WHEAT

– PRINT RECIPE –

Recipe yields:	Difficulty level:	Direct cooking time:	Total time required:
2 Portions	Easy	± 45 minutes	120 minutes

Ingredients:

Beef or calf’s liver, pre-cleaned & prepared	350g
Cake flour	75ml
Fine black pepper	2.5ml
Large onion, sliced into rings	1
Sunflower oil	15ml + 15ml
Water	75ml
Light soy sauce	45ml
White sugar	30ml
Fresh lemon juice	15ml
Dried basil	2.5ml
Fresh ginger, finely grated	2.5ml
Salt	To taste
For the Pearled Wheat:
Pearled wheat	125g
Water	250ml
Bay leaves	3
Salt	1.2ml
Currants or pitted raisins	15ml

Method:

1.      To prepare the wheat: Wash the pearled wheat berries in cold, running water until the rinse water runs clear. Transfer to a bowl and cover with clean water. Set aside to soak for 60 minutes.

2.      Rinse the liver well under cold, running water. Dry thoroughly with kitchen paper towels. Slice evenly into stir-fry style strips, ± 10mm thick by 75mm – 80mm long. Concentrate on cutting the strips as close as possible to equally thick and wide.

3.      Mix the cake flour and black pepper. Transfer to a shallow, rectangular tray. Dredge the liver strips in the flour mixture and set it aside, spread out, on a plate until needed.

4.      Sauté the onions with the oil in a large pan over medium heat until well browned, ± 15 minutes. Set aside and return the pan to the heat. Add the second portion of oil.

5.      Arrange the floured liver strips evenly, in a single layer, in the pan. Fry for 2 minutes on one side and turn over. Fry for a further 2 minutes on the other side. Turn once more if the liver still throws off bloody liquid. Do not over cook; the liver strips should still be quite pinkish in the centre when done. The next step will complete the cooking of the liver. Transfer the liver to the sautéed onions.

6.      Add the soy sauce, sugar, garlic and ginger mixture to the pan. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down to low and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Scrape the pan with a spiral wire whisk to lift any stuck bits. Return the liver and onions to the pan and mix well. Heat until the sauce starts to thicken, simmer for a further minute and remove from the heat.

7.      Taste is the dish is salty enough. Carefully adjust with extra salt if necessary. Serve immediately.

8.      To cook the wheat: Drain the wheat and transfer to a small sauce pan. Add the water, salt and bay leaves. Simmer over medium heat until all the water is absorbed, approx. 20 minutes. Watch the wheat initially as it boils over easily. Remove the bay leaves when done, add the currants, cover and return to very low heat for 5 minutes to allow the currants to hydrate somewhat. Serve immediately.

Comments:

¨   The soy sauce will contribute salt to the dish, thus the careful seasoning adjustment at the end of the cooking process. Use low sodium soy sauce if desired.

¨   Add extra hot water incrementally if the sauce is too thick in the final dish.

¨   Serve with - gasp! – an ice cold, unwooded chardonnay. No hefty reds for this brow beaten cow.

© RS Young, 2017

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Note:

Post updated on 2024.02.09 to include:

1. The updated Recipe for downloading as a PDF file, and

2. Recipe Title and Print Recipe, Recipe Index and Facebook & Pinterest follow links.

Original recipe source:

HUISGENOOT SE WENRESEPTE 5; Niehaus, Carmen; Human & Rousseau (Edms) Bpk; Cape Town; 1993.