Korean BBQ Buns

We really loved this one which is a great testament to the basic goodness of the recipe, since we wound up changing a lot of details around. It's from Cooking Light which is so good at nailing ethnic flavors and textures while simplifying the work for an American kitchen.

I've put the recipe below as Cooking Light had it but we changed a few things on the fly and plan to change more in the future.

• We doubled the recipe to serve as a meal for 4. This says it serves 8 so maybe it was supposed to be an appetizer?
• Ground chuck instead of sirloin
• Bread crumbs instead of panko
• This seemed overly sweet, possibly because every step involved sugar. We'll skip the pan glaze next time.
• We couldn't find steamed buns anywhere (frozen or not). So we used flour tortillas. Never a problem finding those in Dallas! Cooking Light suggested slider buns as an alternative.
• We made the meatballs but they are unwieldy in a tortilla. That's probably something the buns would help hold onto. If we used slider buns then we'd make slider size burgers. However, we liked the tortilla option and next time would just pinch off large pieces to cook without worrying about any round shape.

Step 1 — Pickles
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 cup 1/8”-thick English cucumber slices

Bring all except cucumbers to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; add cucumber slices. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Drain.

Step 2
8 ounces 90% lean ground sirloin
1/4 cup whole-wheat panko
1-1/2 teaspoons light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 garlic clove, grated
1 large egg white, beaten
1-1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

Meanwhile, stir together all until well blended. Shape mixture into 16 meatballs, a scant 1 tablespoon each. Heat a large skillet over medium. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add meatballs to pan; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.

Step 3
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1-1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

Move meatballs to side of skillet. Add oil, sugar, and soy sauce to center of skillet; cook until sugar dissolves and sauce is glazy, about 1 minute. Stir to coat meatballs.

Step 4
8 frozen folded Chinese steamed buns (if you can’t find them, you can stuff the meatballs into standard slider buns)

Layer 3 well-moistened paper towels on a microwave-safe plate. Place frozen buns on prepared plate; cover with 3 more well-moistened paper towels. Microwave at high until warmed, about 1 minute and 30 seconds, checking for doneness every 10 seconds after heating for 1 minute.

Step 5
8 small red leaf lettuce leaves

Divide pickle slices, lettuce leaves, and meatballs evenly among buns.

Best Mapo Tofu

Hi!

I'm Hannah, Julie's daughter, who now has access to this blog to post all my favorite recipes!

So to start off, here is a recipe for Mapo tofu from Serve the People: A Stir-fried Journey Through China by Jen Lin-Liu. Now, I will say that one ingredient we used is probably not what the recipe actually intends. The recipe calls for broadbean paste (doubanjiang), which exists in plain and spicy versions. The way the author calls for chili sauce in equal part to broadbean paste in other recipes in the book makes me think it's meant to be the plain version. I couldn't find a kind that didn't have chili in it at the Vietnamese or Thai grocery stores I go to, so I just used Lee Kum Kee's chili bean sauce, which has broadbean paste in it but also a hefty dose of chili. So my husband was a big fan, partly because he takes very spicy food as a challenge, but I like it with a little bit less chili bean sauce. I could have tried a Chinese market, but I'm not made of trips to the store. And I like this version anyway.

"The Best" Mapo Tofu

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 pound ground beef

2 tablespoons minced leek or scallion

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1/4 cup broadbean paste

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup water

1 package firm tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns

1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine

Add the oil to a wok and place over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the beef, breaking it into small pieces and stirring until it begins to brown. Add the following ingredients, stirring for a minute between each addition: leek and ginger, broadbean paste, soy sauce, rice wine, salt, and sugar. Add the water, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tofu, raise the heat to high, and stir for another 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle in the ground Sichuan peppercorns and remove from the heat. Serve immediately.

It's easy, fast, and delicious!

Grilled Salmon with Chili-Lime Sauce

This is from Quick & Easy Vietnamese by Nancie McDermott. McDermott has become a real favorite of mine for simplified but authentic Asian meals.

This could not have been easier or more delicious. 'Nuff said. Get out there and cook it!

Grilled Salmon with Chili-Lime Sauce

STEP 1

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped shallots or onion
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1-1/4 pounds thick salmon, tuna, halibut, or other meaty fish filets

Combine all the marinade ingredients, dissolving sugar. Marinate fish for 20-30 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate for up to 1 day.

STEP 2 — Chili-Lime Sauce

1/4 cup fish sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice or white vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onions

Combine sauce ingredients, dissolving sugar. Place on platter on which fish will be served.

STEP 3

Grill fish for about 5 minutes each side or bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Transfer to serving platter alongside Chili-Lime Sauce and serve hot or warm.

Sichuan-Style Orange Beef with Sugar Snap Peas

This is from the latest Cook's Country magazine. They always have a center section of 30-minute recipes printed on card stock, perforated so you get the photo on one side, the recipe on the other, and it makes a nice recipe card that I punch holes in and put in my kitchen binder. These have been consistently good and simple whenever I've tried them.

I think next time I'd use more sugar snap peas but since I also steamed some broccoli (dressed with a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce) we had plenty of vegetables.

It was delicious with the beef tender, the snow peas crisp, and the flavor bright from the orange and red pepper flakes. Also, we had plenty left over for a second meal. In fact, I think the flavor was improved on the second night.

The obvious pairing is to serve this with steamed rice, although I could see it being a good match with pasta or rice noodles.

My only beef (ha!) with this recipe is that there weren't enough peas. A second time I made it with double the amount and that was just right. 

Sichuan-Style Orange Beef with Sugar Snap Peas

2 teaspoons grated orange zest plus 1/2 cup juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1-1/2 pounds flank steak, trimmed, cut into thirds lengthwise, and sliced crosswise into 1/4" thick pieces
8 ounces peas, sugar snap, strings removed (I double this)
2 scallions, sliced thin

Combine orange zest and juice, soy sauce, honey, garlic and pepper flakes in a bowl.

Combine beef and 1/3 cup orange juice mixture in a 12" non-stick skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until liquid has evaporated and beef is caramelized, about 15 minutes. Transfer the beef to a plate and tent loosely with aluminum foil.

Add the remaining orange juice mixture and the snap peas to now-empty skillet and cook, covered, over medium heat until the snap peas are bright green, about 2 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the snap peas are tender, about 1 minute. Return the beef to the skillet and toss with the snap peas to combine. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with scallions. Serve.

Cuisine Approximate: Asian BBQ Chicken

June 4

Arriving home tired and ravenous, I mix half a cup of hoisin sauce with a tablespoon each of Vietnamese chilli sauce, grated ginger, light soy sauce and lime juice, plus a teaspoon of five-spice powder and a crushed clove of garlic. I toss four chicken thighs in it, then tip the lot into a roasting tin and bake for half an hour. What emerges is 'cuisine approximate'--a rough copy of something I remember eating long ago, sticky and dark, not quite Chinese, not quite Vietnamese, but nevertheless utterly delicious. I haven't the energy to cook rice, so I wipe my plate with bread.

Nigel Slater, Kitchen Diaries II

Versatile, simple, easy, quick.

Utterly fantastic!

This hit my taste buds where they live and I have made it several times.

Sometimes I had fresh ginger. Sometimes I didn't. Sometimes I had garlic. Once, to my eternal shame, I didn't. (I know. A house without garlic is an abomination before the Lord. Let us never speak of this again.)

And honestly I somehow completely missed his mention of five-spice powder until I was typing this out.

This recipe also highlighted just how different various brands of hoisin sauce can be. I maintain there is no such thing as a bad hoisin sauce. However, there are some that are definitely more to my taste than others. Part of the interest has been experimenting to see which I like best.

I'll be honest though. Most of the interest has been in the eating.

Stir-Fried Spinach

In my brief flirtation with a local produce co-op (one morning constitutes "brief" doesn't it?), I received a lot of fresh produce that I normally don't get. I did like that part of it.

It made me cook fresh green beans and discover that all those people who always assured me in recipes that frozen green beans are "just as good" were lying. Lying.

Those fresh beans, even though limp and characterless when I washed, topped, and tailed them, turned somehow silky, toothsome, and subtly flavored.

Emboldened and needing to produce some space in my refrigerator, I pulled out the two pounds of fresh spinach and my go-to vegetable cookbook, Irene Kuos' The Key to Chinese Cooking. I saw that probably about 20 years ago I had noted it "great" and "great" it remained. Rose took enough for two small bites and then quickly took a much larger helping. Tom had seconds.

Again, I had been a victim of those cookbook authors who have been assuring me that frozen spinach is just as good as fresh. This was soft, shiny, vividly green, and had a silky texture (somehow different from that of the beans) and was a mild, nutty flavor thanks to the sesame oil.

Here's how you can make it for yourself. The brief parboiling helps prevent it from turning watery but be sure to really squeeze the water out of it afterward. A little sugar is added to remove that puckery aftertaste that spinach can have. It isn't sweet and does the trick nicely. A good deal of oil is needed to give it luster and a smooth texture. Don't reduce it until you've tried this one as written.

Stir-Fried Spinach

2 pounds spinach
4 tablespoons oil
2 large cloves garlic, lightly crushed and peeled
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Wash the spinach well (mine took 7 washes). If it has roots, sepaarate them and cut into 2 or 4 pieces -- they are extremely sweet and succulent. Chop stems if long.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add the spinach, and stir to submerge it. When the water begins to boil again, in about a minute, pour the spinach into a colander and spray with cold water to stop the cooking. press down lightly to extract excess water.

Heat a wok or large, heavy skillet over high heat until hot; add the oil, swirl, and heat bout 30 seconds til hot. Toss the garlic cloves and press them again the pan a few times. Add the spinach and poke and shake to separate the mass; then stir in fast turning motions to coat it with oil. Sprinkle in the salt and sugar and stir briskly for about 1 minute. Add the sesame oil, give a few fast turns, and pour into a hot serving dish, discarding the garlic.

A Simple Khmer Stir-Fry ... With Lots and Lots of Ginger

Reading Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia I was irresistibly drawn to this recipe which they described as being one where the ginger is both a flavoring and a vegetable. Let's see ... about two cups of matchstick cut ginger. Oy veh! That would either kill you or cure you it seemed to me.

This I had to try.

It was absolutely delicious. Clearly it wouldn't do to serve it to those who didn't like ginger but the flavors balanced out so well that we never felt overwhelmed. Don't get me wrong. There was plenty of ginger and it was plenty hot ... but oh, so very good.

I also liked the fact that it used catfish. I like catfish ... both for the flavor and the low, low price compared to other fish.

Stir-Fried Fish with Ginger
[traey cha k'nye -- Cambodia]

1 pound fish fillets (catfish, snapper, or any other firm-fleshed fish)
1/2 pound ginger, preferably young ginger
3 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
1/4 cup minced shallots
4 scallions, trimmed, smashed flat with the side of a cleaver, sliced lengthwise in half and then cut into 2-inch lengths (I didn't have any on hand)
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Slice the fish fillets into strips about 2 inches long and less than 1/2 inch thick. Peel the ginger, then cut into fine matchstick-length julienne (this is most easily done by cutting thin slices, then stacking these to cut them into matchsticks.) You should have about 2 cups, loosely packed.

Heat a wok over medium-high heat. (I would just use a big skillet if that's what you have.) Add the oil and, when it is hot, add the ginger.

When the ginger is starting to turn golden, after about 3 minutes, toss in the shallots. Stir-fry until the ginger is golden-brown, 2 to 4 minutes.

Toss in the scallions, reserving a few shreds for garnish, and stir-fry briefly, pressing the scallions against the hot wok to sear them.

Add the sliced fish and stir-fry gently for 1 minute, using your spatula to separate the slices and to expose them all to the hot wok.

Add the fish sauce, sugar, and salt, stir gently, and cook for 3 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through.

Add the lime juice, taste and adjust the seasonings if you wish, and turn out onto a platter. Garnish with the reserved scallion shreds and serve hot.

Serves: 4. Serve with rice, a clear soup, and a fresh tasting salad.

Fragrant Vietnamese Chicken-Noodle Soup

Yes, I used Jim Fobel's Big Flavors this week as my main source. What can I say? Big flavors grab me.

This takes more time than you would think, due to the many fresh ingredients that need preparation. However, it is all very simple. Just don't do what I did and walk into the kitchen 45 minutes before you plan on serving dinner, only to see that the chicken should be marinated for 1-2 hours ... and then grilled or broiled. Guess what? It did just dandy with 1/2 hour of marinating.

My recipe notes:

• I added basil, which makes it the spitting image of my favorite bowl of soup at our local Vietnamese restaurant.
• I didn't have the thin rice sticks called for but, rather, broad rice noodles. They made for a bit more difficult eating perhaps, but worked perfectly well.
• Not wanting to deal with grilling or broiling at the moment, I simply sauteed the chicken in the pot I later used for the soup.
• I always use limes with this. Not only does it seem more authentic to me, but I like limes better.
  

Everyone loves this, even our discriminating Hannah.

Makes 4 main-course or 8 soup-course servings.

Chicken and Marinade
3 tablespoons Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce (nuoc mam or nam pla)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon sugar
1 large garlic clove, minced or crushed through a press
1 pound split skinless and boneless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Soup
8 ounces thin dried rice noodles or rice sticks (1/16")
8 cups chicken stock
About 1/4 cup Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce (nuoc mam or nam pla)
5 large, thin slices fresh ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced or crushed through a press
8 whole scallions, cut into 1-1/2" lengths
4 cups fresh bean sprouts (12 ounces), rinsed and drained
2 cups finely shredded romaine lettuce (preferably the small inner leaves)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil (my addition)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped, unsalted, roasted peanuts
1 lemon or lime, cut into 8 wedges
Vietnamese chili-garlic sauce

1. Marinate the chicken. In a large, shallow glass dish, stir together the fish sauce, lemon juice, ginger, sugar, and garlic. Add the chicken, turning to coat all. cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
2. Preheat a charcoal grill or the broiler. Take the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels; discard the marinade. lightly coat the chicken with the vegetable oil. Grill or broil for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until cooked to the center. Let stand until needed. If making ahead, when cool, cover and refrigerate. Tear into 1/2" wide shreds. If the chicken is cold, reheat in a small amount of the soup broth.
3. Make the soup. Drop the rice noodles into a large pot of boiling water over high heat. After the water returns to a boil, cook for 1 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water. let air-dry in the colander, tossing occasionally, for at least 30 minutes or as long as 2 hours.
4. In a large saucepan or soup pot, combine the chicken stock, 1/4 cup of the fish sauce, ginger, and garlic. Bring to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. cover and keep warm until serving time.
5. Just before ladling into bowls, bring the soup to a boil. Remove the ginger slices and add the scallions. Taste and add more fish sauce, if desired.
6. For main-course servings, choose 4 large (6-cup) bowls. Into each, arrange one-fourth of the noodles (they will heat in the broth); one-fourth of the shredded chicken; 1 cup of the bean sprouts; 1/2 cup shredded lettuce; 2 tablespoons each of the mint, basil and cilantro; and 1 tablespoon of the chopped peanuts. Ladle in about 2 cups of the scalding hot broth, putting some of the scallions in each. Serve hot, garnished with lemon wedges. Guests should spoon in a little of the chili sauce to taste. For soup-course servings, use large shallow soup plates and halve the quantities given above.
   

A Delightful Sampler of Recipes from Around the World

STREET FOOD by Tom Kime

This cookbook is a charming if quick look at the recipes of street vendors all over the world. Laid out with DK Publishing's customary focus on photography and clean style, the recipes and prose are highlighted in a way that literally made my mouth water (and that is not enviable when one is reading at 11:00 at night with no way to get Spiced Grilled Chicken with Coconut Cream!).

Author Tom Kime had the enviable task of traveling the world to choose the best of the best, eating his way through the streets of India, Sri Lanka, the Caribbean and more. The result is a collection of recipes are that are both savory and simple. I especially enjoyed the Indian and Southeastern Asian recipes, but my mouth is wired that way. I have the Potato and Cumin Curry and Crispy Paratha (stuffed with scallions, ginger, cilantro, and jalapeno) marked to try. Even though the Southern Europe recipe selection was not what I usually think of (showing just how varied the recipes are), the Pan Fried Red mullet with Preserved Lemon, olives, and Parsley also is marked as a must try. Of the recipes that were of sorts that I already have made from other sources, most notably the Vietnamese and Thai selections, Kime's recipes looked not only authentic but streamlined enough to make me contemplate them for the near future. He accompanies these recipes with journal entries that put the recipe in context of his travels. I could have done with more of this but I love to read about travel as much as food so that is a personal inclination more than a criticism.

Two features I really liked in this book were the Recipe Navigator, which helps sort our unfamiliar foods in categories such as "Best in a bowl," "Finger food," A meal in itself," and the extensive menu ideas in such categories as Barbecue, Leisurely Lunch, or Cozy Night In.

Noodles with Bean-Paste Meat Sauce

From "The Key to Chinese Cooking" by Irene Kuo

As with most Asian recipes, the ingredients list can be intimidatingly long but this does not mean the recipe is complicated. It is simply a matter of preparing a meat sauce, cooking noodles and cutting vegetables, all of which can be done ahead of time.

"The Key to Chinese Cooking" is the cookbook I used to learn Chinese cooking. Despite the plethora of Chinese cookbooks that followed this one remains my favorite both for technique and recipes. If you are at all interested in Chinese cooking I strongly urge you to seek it out at used bookstores.

1 pound noodles, boiled

Garnish:
1 large firm, slender cucumber
2 cups fresh bean sprouts
2 cups shredded* romaine lettuce
1-1/2 cups shredded* celery
4 large cloves garlic, minced or mashed
1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 pound ground pork (I often use ground beef instead)
4 tablespoons oil (I often omit this and just cook the meat alone)
1 large scallion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dry sherry

Sauce:
5 tablespoons bean paste (I use black bean sauce which is widely available and add a pinch of sugar as Kuo suggests for a substitution)
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup water

To Make Noodles:
Cook fresh noodles or spaghetti or linguine according to the instructions. Rinse, drain, and set aside. Toss with a little sesame oil to keep them from sticking together. When ready to serve, either reheat in microwave or plunge them into a pot of boiling water to boil briefly till hot and drain well.

To Prepare Garnishes:
Cut off the ends and peel the cucumber; halve and deseed it. Cut the halves diagonally into 1-1/2-inch-long slices, then shred* them. Rinse and drain the bean sprouts. Parboil them in boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain into a colander and spray with cold water. Drain well.

Separate lettuce leaves; rinse and shake dry. Cut the larger leaves in half lengthwise; then shred them crosswise thin. Cut the tender core diagonally into thin slices and then shred* these.

Wash, scrape, then cut the celery stalks diagonally into thin slices, shred the slices thin. rinse in cold water and drain well.

Crush and peel the garlic; then either mince it or mash it in a garlic press. Mix with the sesame oil in a small dish.

Put each vegetable in a separate serving dish. If doing this step in advance, cover the dishes and refrigerate. Bring out just before serving.

To Make Meat Sauce:
March-chop** the pork a few times to loosen its formation. Place it with the finely chopped scallions on a platter. Combine the sauce ingredients and stir well.

Heat a wok or large, heavy skillet over high heat until hot; add the 4 tablespoons oil, swirl and heat for 30 seconds. Turn heat to medium and add the meat, stirring briskly in poking and pressing motions until the meat separates. Scatter in the scallions and stir a few times; then add the sherry and stir rapidly to mingle. Give the sauce ingredients a big stir, pour over the meat and stir to even out the contents.

Turn heat to low to maintain a gentle simmering, and simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened, stirring now and then. At this point, add a little sugar if the sauce needs it -- it should be on the salty side with a subtle sweet aftertaste.

Turn the heat high, add the sesame oil, and give a few fast folds before pouring into a serving dish. The sauce may be made ahead of time, covered and chilled. Reheat over very low heat just before serving.

To Serve:
Place the vegetable garnishes in a circle in the center of the table with the hot meat sauce in the middle. Pile the hot noodles on a platter or in a deep bowl. Serve the noodles to each person and let him or her spoon on a little sauce and a sprinkling of vegetable garnishes. The mixture should be tossed well before being eaten. Serves 6-8 generously.

*"Shredding" is cutting ingredients into uniform strips about the size of wooden matchsticks.

** "March-chop" is a polishing finish for refining hand-minced meats or loosening the tight formation of machine-ground meats. Gather minced or ground meat into a flat pile; chop with a cleaver or big knife, straight up and down from one end of the pile to the other a few times. Then flip the pile over with the side of the cleaver and chop now at 90 degrees to the first row a few times.

Thai-Style Ground Beef

This is from Cooking Light. I have to say that they really are geniuses at getting an essential cultural flavor down in the easiest possible way for a quick meal. Probably the best tribute to this recipe is that I didn't mention to Tom it was something new. He took a bite, his eyes widened, and he looked at me. "Wow!
This is great!"

Notes:

• I didn't have light coconut milk, just the regular sort. However, I inadvertently cut out a lot of the fat by just using a church key style can opener to poke holes in the top. This kept most of the fat in the can as it was evidently cool enough for it to be solidified.
• I was in a tearing hurry so didn't do the leek step ... and also didn't have iceberg lettuce. No matter. It was still great.
  

Cooking spray
1 cup thinly sliced leek
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 pound lean ground sirloin
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
3 cups hot cooked short-grain rice
Iceberg lettuce wedges (optional)
Chopped cilantro
Chopped green onions (optional)

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray.

Add leek; sauté 5 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute.

Add beef; cook 7 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring to crumble. [Drain any fat, especially if, like me, you had ground chuck and not ground sirloin.]

Stir in curry paste and tomato sauce; cook until half of liquid evaporates (about 2 minutes).

Add coconut milk and next 4 ingredients (through fish sauce); cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Serve with the rice and lettuce wedges, if desired. Garnish with cilantro and green onions, if desired.

Serves 8

Tags:Food

Broccoli Beef

I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe before now. So simple, so delicious, and it even makes Rose like broccoli. I wish I could remember which cookbook it came from but there you go ... I've forgotten.

As with most Chinese food in our house, I serve this with what the girls call "sticky rice" which translates to Jasmine rice or Calrose medium grain sushi rice. Mmmm, it makes cleaning plates a pain but it is soooo good!


Step 1:
1 teaspoon rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon minced ginger
3/4 pound sirloin, thinly sliced

Marinate beef: combine all until cornstarch is dissolved. Stir beef gently in marinade until coated. Let stand 10 minutes.

Step 2:
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

Prepare sauce by mixing all together.

Step 3:
1/2 pound broccoli florets or gai lan

Cook broccoli in a small pot of boiling water until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

Step 4:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

Heat wok over high heat until hot. Add oil and heat. Stir-fry beef until no longer pink, 1-1/2 to 2 minutes.

Add sauce and broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Scoop contents of wok onto a serving platter and serve immediately.

Tags:Food

Sweet and Spicy Garlic Shrimp

I wish I could remember where I picked up this recipe. I copied it from a library book (maybe one of Ken Hom's cookbooks?). It was a huge hit with everyone the other night and Tom paid it perhaps the highest praise by saying it "was just like something from Tong's House" (our favorite authentic Chinese restaurant). This looks as if it would be really hot but it just built a gentle burn that lingered pleasantly on the tongue by the end of the meal.

3/4 pound large shrimp, shelled (I used a full pound)

For the marinade:
1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
Marinate the shrimp: Place the shrimp in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the cornstarch and salt. Toss the shrimp gently in the marinade until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes.

For the sauce:
1-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
Prepare the sauce: mix all together in a small bowl

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup finely diced yellow onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 dried red chiles
Heat a wok over high heat until hot (or I also use a large, high-sided skillet sometimes). Add oil and swirl to coat the sides. Add shrimp and stir-fry until pink, about 2 minutes. Add onion, garlic, and chiles and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add sauce and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 30 seconds. Scoop onto a platter and serve.

Serves 4 as part of a multicourse meal. (This served the four of us just fine with some jasmine rice and steamed broccoli.)

Two Great Chinese Cookbooks

When I was first out of college and had that heady experience of running the kitchen for myself, I'd never really had any Chinese food. My gourmet parents didn't cotton to all the chopping that they'd have to do for any sort of Asian cooking. All I needed was one time at a fairly authentic Chinese restaurant and I was hooked. Naturally, I turned to books...

THE KEY TO CHINESE COOKING by Irene Kuo
Irene Kuo has been called the Julia Child of Chinese cooking and she deserves the title. This is the cookbook I used to teach myself Chinese cooking and it has every technique I have ever seen mentioned in any other Asian cookbook. Kuo writes so clearly that there is not much need for illustration, although there are some when describing cutting techniques and ingredients. More importantly, she has a love for her craft that comes through clearly and makes you understand why various techniques even matter. There is a plethora of recipes, many of which are amazingly simple to yield such authentic results. She rightly points out that there is much more than stir-frying to Chinese food and proceeds to instruct in red-cooking, shallow frying, and much more that adds timing flexibility many may not expect from Chinese cooking. Many of the recipes are very simple but the flavor is authentic. If you've ever been interested in Chinese cooking this is the only cookbook you'll ever need.

EASY FAMILY RECIPES FROM A CHINESE-AMERICAN CHILDHOOD by Ken Hom
This is another favorite that shows how simple and easy Chinese cooking can be. Ken Hom gives some of the recipes that his working mother used to put together 4-course meals in an hour, night after night when he was growing up in Chicago's Chinatown. He worked in his uncle's restaurant and also gives us a lot of recipes for those long-time American favorites ... both the restaurant menu version (for Americans) and the "secret menu" version (for Chinese patrons). Hom has been teaching cooking for a long time and it shows. These are very accessible and will please everyone in your family. Believe me, if Hannah likes these meals, then anyone will!