I recently fell in love with cooking after eating out for almost every meal for many years. One of the gifts that I gave myself with all the money that I am saving by not eating out all the time is a cooking class. Our teacher was talking about garlic sauces.

Of course, I had eaten my share of garlic sauce in my favorite Chinese restaurant. She told us that there were nine different types of garlic sauce depending on the culture. This intrigued me, so I started to experiment using beef as my meat to determine which ones I liked best.

In order to keep up with my beef with garlic sauce experiments, I wrote down every recipe that I used and made some notes about them.

Veal Piccata

Veal Piccata Ingredients:

  • 2 veal cutlets
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/16 teaspoon salt
  • 1/16 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/4 cup chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • 3 teaspoons garlic
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Veal Piccata Instructions:

  1. Pound veal chops so they are no thicker than 1/4 inch.
  2. Put the flour on a plate.
  3. Dredge the veal through the flour.
  4. Season veal with the salt and pepper.
  5. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and wait for it to melt.
  6. Add the veal and fry on both sides. This will take about one minute per side.
  7. Place veal on a plate.
  8. Add wine to the skillet.
  9. Scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the skillet.
  10. Bring wine to a boil and let it reduce by half.
  11. Add the chicken stock, capers, garlic and lemon juice to the skillet.
  12. Cook for five minutes while stirring occasionally.
  13. Whisk in the remaining butter and the parsley 
  14. Return the veal to the skillet. Cook until the veal is heated through.
  15. Serve and enjoy.

Mediterranean Beef With Aioli Garlic Sauce

A few nights later, I decided I wanted Mediterranean cuisine. That would have normally been the perfect excuse to head to my favorite Mediterranean restaurant, but keeping my promise to myself, I made it at home and continued by experiment.

Mediterranean Beef with Aioli Garlic Sauce Ingredients:

  • 3 pounds center-cut beef tenderloin
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 parsnips
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 turnip
  • 1 rutabaga
  • 1 horseradish root
  • 11 garlic cloves
  • 1 small beet
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 3 leeks
  • 6 cups beef stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ⅔ cup white wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Mediterranean Beef with Aioli Garlic Sauce Instructions:

  1. Clean and chop the parsnips, carrots, turnip and rutabaga.
  2. Cut and juice the lemon.
  3. Prepare zest from the lemon rind.
  4. Grate 10 garlic cloves.
  5. Pat the tenderloin dry.
  6. Sprinkle lemon zest, one teaspoon salt, pepper and garlic on tenderloin.
  7. Refrigerate tenderloin for 60 minutes.
  8. Coarsely chop and place the horseradish root and the beets in a food processor.
  9. Add the remaining salt and vinegar to the food processor. Chop until very fine.
  10. In a medium bowl, mince the remaining garlic clove, Add the Dijon mustard, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Stir until well combined.
  11. Add two tablespoons horseradish mixture to Dijon mustard mixture. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
  12. Remove tenderloin from the refrigerator. Return to room temperature. Use kitchen string to tie thin pieces of tenderloin on top of meat if needed to create a piece of uniform thickness.
  13. Cut leeks in half lengthways to create six pieces. Tie three pieces together into two bundles securing in at least two different places.
  14. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven.
  15. Add tenderloin and brown on all sides. This will take about 10 minutes.
  16. Remove meat to a serving platter.
  17. Add wine to Dutch oven. Cook until reduced in half, which should take about three minutes.
  18. Add vegetables, garlic, and stock to Dutch oven.
  19. Tie thyme in bunches with kitchen twine and drop into pan.
  20. Add bay leaf.
  21. Allow mixture to become warm and vegetables to soften slightly.
  22. Add meat and cook until meat measures 120 degrees on a meat thermometer. Do not let mixture come to a boil.
  23. Remove meat to a clean plate. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest 10 minutes.
  24. Season vegetables with remaining salt and lemon juice. Cook until vegetables are tender.
  25. Slice meat thinly.
  26. Place vegetable mixture on individual serving plates. Top with meat. Ladle a little broth over meat. Serve with a side of the horseradish mixture and the Dijon mustard sauce.

So far, I loved my beef flavored with garlic sauce recipes. I have always been a little leery to cook Chinese food at home, but I decided to give it a try with a Hunan beef as the recipe seemed simple enough.

What is Hunan Beef?

Hunan beef is a spicy Chinese stir-fry. It was perfect for the night that I had meetings after work since it goes together in under 20 minutes. The spice in this beef dish comes from the Hunan sauce that I learned was very easy to prepare.

This dish is named after the Hunan province in southern China, but it is actually a conglomeration of many different recipes that have been altered to match more closely the expectations of the American public for what this dish should taste like. Since many have trouble remembering the name of this dish, it is often referred to as beef with garlic sauce in Chinese food.

Hunan Beef Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 scallions
  • 24 ounces flank steak
  • 6 tablespoons peanut oil
  • 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoons ginger
  • 2 tablespoons red chili sauce
  • 6 tablespoons peanut oil
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin

Hunan Beef Instructions:

  1. Stir together the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, black pepper and salt until all the cornstarch is dissolved.
  2. Cut the flank steak into bite-size pieces making sure that none of the pieces are over 1/4-inch thick.
  3. Place the steak in the marinade created in step 1. Stir and then let sit until marinade is all soaked up.
  4. Mince the garlic and the ginger.
  5. In another small bowl, combine the garlic, ginger, red chili sauce and cumin.
  6. Place peanut oil in a wok. Heat over medium heat until hot.
  7. Add the meat to the wok and cook until the meat is browned.
  8. Using a slotted spatula, remove the meat from the oil and place on a platter.
  9. Add the remaining ingredients except for the scallions to the oil in the work stirring until well combined. Stir constantly so that it does not burn.
  10. Add the meat back to the wok and cook until warm stirring to combine well.
  11. Remove the mixture from the stove and serve on individual plates.
  12. Cut and add the scallions right before serving.

Carne alla Picchiapò with Filfel Chuma Sauce

This shredded beef with garlic sauce recipe is popular with Libyan Jews. Many people of this culture are afraid that their traditions will totally disappear because there is not a single Jew living in Italy.

Under the Fascist Race Protection Laws of the 1940s, many Jews were forced to stop practicing their faith. Therefore, keeping their recipes alive is a particularly important way to preserve their heritage. Although Carne Lessa Alla Picchiapò can be served with a hot pepper sauce, serving it with a garlic sauce is a great alternative.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds brisket
  • 2 cups dry white wine
  • 4 carrots
  • 4 onions
  • 20 black peppercorns
  • 6 cloves
  • 10 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 8 tablespoons sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

  1. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt on the brisket.
  2. Refrigerate brisket for four hours.
  3. Bring a large stock pot of water to a low simmer.
  4. Peel the carrots and cut into large pieces. Add to the water.
  5. Add the onions whole to the water.
  6. Add the wine to the water.
  7. Add the brisket, peppercorns and cloves to the water.
  8. Cook for two hours or until meat is tender.
  9. Remove brisket from the water. Use two forks to shred meat.
  10. Combine the remaining ingredients to make the sauce.
  11. Divide brisket on individual serving plates.
  12. Cover meat with sauce. Serve and enjoy.

Spicy Beef and Broccoli

I was telling my fellow classmates about the fun I was having with my beef and garlic sauce recipes from different cuisines. That is when one of them asked me if I had tried spicy beef and broccoli. Admitting that I had been eating a lot of meat lately and not many vegetables, I promised to try her spicy beef and broccoli recipe that night.

Spicy Beef and Broccoli Ingredients:

  • 2 carrots
  • 1 head broccoli
  • 1 pound flank steak
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1/16 teaspoon salt
  • 1/16 teaspoon pepper

Spicy Beef and Broccoli Instructions:

  1. Peel carrots and slice very thin.
  2. Cut broccoli florets off the head. Cut larger pieces in half.
  3. Slice flank steak into bite-size pieces.
  4. Heat one tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat. Wait until the pan gets very hot before proceeding.
  5. Add the broccoli and carrots to the skillet. Cook until tender. This will take about four minutes.
  6. Remove the vegetables from the skillet and put on a plate. Cover to keep warm.
  7. Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel.
  8. Turn the heat to high.
  9. Add the steak to the skillet. Cook until the desired doneness.
  10. Add all ingredients to skillet including vegetables. Cook until warm and sauce forms.
  11. Stir the mixture frequently.

Spicy Thai Beef Recipe

I had tried many wonderful beef recipes flavored with garlic. I knew, however, that my experiment was drawing to a close for the moment, but there was one recipe that I just had to try before I quit concentrating on this type of food. That recipe was a spicy Thai beef recipe. I knew that my friend was from Thailand, so it seemed logical to ask her for her favorite one.

Spicy Thai Beef Recipe Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pound beef tenderloin
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 1/16 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon seasoning sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 4 tablespoons beef broth
  • 1 bunch scallions

Spicy Thai Beef Recipe Instructions:

  1. Thinly slice and place tenderloin in a bowl.
  2. Mince garlic and add to tenderloin.
  3. Add flour, oyster sauce and black pepper.
  4. Let marinade for 60 minutes.
  5. Place olive oil in the wok. Turn on the stove and let the oil get very hot.
  6. Fry tenderloin to the desired degree of doneness.
  7. Remove tenderloin and place on a plate.
  8. Combine cornstarch and water. Stirring to make a paste.
  9. Add cornstarch paste to oil in the wok.
  10. Add oyster sauce, seasoning sauce and sugar.
  11. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for a few minutes.
  12. Add beef stock and stir until well combined.
  13. Place tenderloin on serving plates. Top with gravy mixture.
  14. Slice scallions and add to serving plates as a garnish. Serve and enjoy.

I certainly enjoyed eating my spicy beef seasoned with garlic. Looking back at all the fabulous beef with garlic sauce recipes that I had tried, I came to one very important conclusion. The different cuisines of the world are a lot more like each other than they are different.

Yet, each has its own unique qualities that made me totally enjoy them. I imagine that it is the same with people across the globe. We are a lot more like each other than we are different.

Yet, we each have our own unique personalities making each one of us very special. Find a way to embrace our unique differences while celebrating our sameness very soon.

Author

Peter's path through the culinary world has taken a number of unexpected turns. After starting out as a waiter at the age of 16, he was inspired to go to culinary school and learn the tricks of the trade. As he delved deeper, however, his career took a sudden turn when a family friend needed someone to help manage his business. Peter now scratches his culinary itch on the internet by blogging, sharing recipes, and socializing with food enthusiasts worldwide.

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