Sha cha beef

Sha cha beef is the name of a dish featuring shacha sauce and tenderized beef strips. The Americanized dish is usually served over a bed of white rice with fresh scallions and cilantro . This is the native dish to the Gansu province of China. This dish is rare in that it is one of few - dishes to maintain the principle of ''fan-ts'ai''. The basis of this principle is the division between ''fan'', grains and other starch foods, and ''ts'ai'', vegetable and meat dishes. To prepare a balanced meal, it must have an appropriate amount of both ''fan'' and ''ts'ai'', and ingredients are readied along both tracks. Sha cha beef is not only a superb example of ''fan-ts'ai'', but a traditional dish dating back thousands of generations.

''Schabeefsteak'' is the commonly used term in the kitchens of asian restaurants in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. This is the colloquial form of the word. Also used as an expression of agreement or as a greeting.