Saturday, September 27, 2008

Chinese Dinner






On Monday, I made the long-awaited Chinese meal for D. He chose Mongolian beef as the main dish he wanted to try. I was a little intimidated to make a Chinese meal since I have never stir-fried anything before. The recipe I used was from allcooks.com but I also found a copycat of the Mongolian Beef dish that you can get at P.F. Chang's. I didn't try that one because I had a bottle of chili paste and hoisin sauce as well as some scallions that I wanted to use. In a few weeks, I'll try the P.F. Chang's copycat recipe and post it for you. Again, I cheated a bit on this meal because I bought the wonton soup at a Chinese restaurant. I asked them if they had any type of Chinese dessert but the owner told me that Chinese aren't too big on desserts. I know that I have eaten some yummy almond cookies and ice cream concoctions but I wasn't prepared to argue with the man. I just asked for a bunch of fortune cookies and called it a day! The Mongolian Beef went quickly (to say the least). I served it with Jasmine rice and steamed broccoli. The first course was wonton soup and the entire meal was followed up with fortune cookies. I just couldn't bear to use a whole cup of oil to stir-fry the beef so I used just 1/4 cup of sesame oil. It worked out fine. I will go out on a limb and call this my first experience making a Chinese dinner a super-success for me! I also used my brand new wok for the first time. It was great!





Mongolian Beef



Ingredients:
· 1 lb sirloin or flank steak
·
· Marinade:
· 1 egg white
· Pinch of salt
· 1 teaspoon sesame oil
· 1 tablespoon cornstarch
·
· Vegetables:
· 4 green onions, sliced on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
· 1 8-ounce can baby corn
· 1 garlic clove, minced



· Sauce:
· 3 TB hoisin sauce
· 2 TB water
· 1 TB dark soy sauce
· 2 tsp rice vinegar, or 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
· 1/4 tsp chile paste, or to taste



· Other:
· 1 tsp sugar
· 1 cup oil for frying beef (I used 1/4 cup sesame oil instead)
· 2 TB oil for stir-frying



Preparation:
Slice the beef across the grain into thin strips. Add the marinade ingredients in the order given and marinate the beef for thirty minutes. To prepare the vegetables, wash the green onions and slice on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces. Peel and mince the garlic. Rinse the can of baby corn with warm running water. Drain thoroughly. Mix together the sauce ingredients and set aside. When the beef has finished marinating, heat the wok and add 1 cup oil. When oil is ready, add the beef and fry until it changes color. Remove the beef from the wok and drain on paper towels. Clean out the wok with a paper towel, and add 2 tablespoons of oil for stir-frying. When the oil is ready, add the garlic. Stir-fry briefly, and add the baby corn. Add the green onions. Make a well in the middle of the wok by pushing the vegetables up to the side. Add the sauce and bring to a boil, stirring to thicken.Stir in the sugar. Add the beef and combine with the sauce and vegetables. Serve hot.


Serves 4.






Enjoy!




The Creative Cook




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