Mongolian Beef

The first time I had Mongolian Beef at P.F. Chang's I thought my life had changed.  It was sooo good!  Here is a recipe I've found that claims to be the recipe Mr. Chang uses.  It is pretty good!  We always add sautéed mushrooms when we make it, because when they are delish!  Also, the first time I made it, I decided to skip the "10 mins of cornstarch part" because I thought it sounded like a hassle.  The meal turned out ok, but I definitely recommend following the instructions exactly.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 1 lb flank steak
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 large green onions

Directions:
1.  Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/2 inch thick bite-size slices.  (Make sure its against the grain, or the meat will turn out very tough).  Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very think dusting to both sides of each piece of beef.  Let the beef sit for about 10 mins so that the cornstarch sticks..

2.  Make the sauce by heating the 2 teaspoons of oil in a medium sauce pan over medium/low heat. Don't get the oil too hot or its trouble.  Add ginger and garlic to the pan.  Stir it just a bit, and then add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches.  Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2 to 3 mins or until the sauce thickens.  Remove from the heat.

3.  As the beef sits, heat up the cup of oil over medium heat in a wok (I use my skillet pan for this).  Heat the oil over medium heat until its nice and hot, but not smoking.

Add the beef to the oil and saute for just two mins, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges.  You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef is going to go back on the heat later.  Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly.  After the two mins are up, use a large slotted spoon to take the meed out and onto paper towels.  Then discard the oil from the wok.  Put the pan back ove the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute.  Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring..  Then add the green onions.  Cook for one more minute.  Serve over rice.

Crunchy Asian Salad

This was really easy and delicious.  We kept the dressing on the side and added it individually, because we knew we'd have a lot of leftovers and we didn't want it to get soggy.  Also we added some chicken, because Kyle is a hard working man and needs some meat.  We just pan fried it up,  and put a little stir-fry sauce on it to add flavor.  It was pretty good!  I think that I'm just starting to realize the glory of cabbage.  (I will never like corn beef and cabbage).  

Ingredients
Dressing:
1/3 cup Canola Oil
1/3 cup Rice Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Salad:
1 package of roman noodles (any flavor will do)
1 bag of coleslaw mix (the kind that has cabbage and carrots in it)
1/2 cup of sliced green onions (about 8)
1/2 cup of sliced almonds
1 medium red bell pepper
2 oranges, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 cups coarsely chopped baby spinach leaves

Directions:  Mix all of the dressing ingredients together and stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Set aside.  Crush up the bag of roman noodles and discard the seasoning packet.  Add the noodles and all of the salad ingredients to a large bowl and mix it up.  Add the dressing and stir.

Recipe from eatbetteramerica.com

Potstickers with Sweet and Sour Slaw

Potstickers

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound ground chicken
• 1/2-inch knob ginger, finely grated
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 to 3 scallions, thinly sliced, green tips reserved for garnish
• 1 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
• Few dashes Sriracha or hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 16 round wonton wrappers
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil
• 1/4 cup chicken stock or water, plus more as needed

Preparation

In a mixing bowl combine the chicken, ginger, garlic,

scallion (save the green tips for garnish), 5-spice powder,

hot sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil and 1 tablespoon soy

sauce. Cover the stack of wonton wrappers with a damp

towel and get a small bowl of water. Working with a

couple of wrappers at a time, place about 1 tablespoon

of the meat mixture in the center of the wrapper and

wet the edges by dabbing your finger in the water and

running it around the edges. Fold the wrapper over to

wrap the meat up (it’ll look like a half moon). Press on

the edges lightly to seal them and, if you like, crimp the

edges for decoration. Continue filling and shaping the

dumplings until all of the meat mixture and wrappers are used up.

Place a large skillet with a lid over medium-high heat with 1

turn of the pan of oil, about 1 tablespoon. Add the dumplings,

flat side down, into the pan and sear until deep golden brown,

about 1 minute on each side. Add the stock to the pan and

quickly place the lid on. Steam the dumplings until the meat

is cooked through and most all of the liquid has been

absorbed, 3 to 4 minutes (if all of the liquid absorbs

but the potstickers aren’t done yet, add a few splashes

more liquid and continue cooking).

Sweet and Sour Slaw

Ingredients:

• • 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
  • 1 head Napa Cabbage, shredded
  • 4 scallions, sliced
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce

Preparation

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons,

about 2 turns of the pan, canola oil. Sauté the Napa

cabbage, carrots and scallions until tender, about

5 minutes. While it is cooking, in a small saucepan,

mix together the sugar, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce.

Heat through, then pour onto the cabbage mixture, toss around,

and turn off the heat. Serve the Sweet and Sour slaw under

the pot stickers.

I think this is one of my new favorite meals. Its soo good. Its pretty

simple too, once you get the hang of making the potstickers. FYI,

I found the potsticker wrappers by the mushrooms in the produce

section of the store.

Also, usually when a recipe calls for fresh ginger, I just use the

powdered stuff I already have. For some reason I decided to get

the fresh stuff this time. IT CHANGED MY LIFE! I don't usually

like ginger, but this stuff was so good. You just break off however

much you want. The piece I got was about 5 times more than

I really needed, and it only cost .3 cents. I'm never going back

to dry ginger again!

Also, I know this post has some major formatting issues, but

blogger wont let me fix them. Sometimes I really hate blogger.

Peking Chicken Wraps

Ingredients:  

• 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
  
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
  
• 4 green onions, sliced
  
• 1/4 snow peas, trimmed
  
• 1 cup finely shredded cabbage
  
• 2 cup shredded carrot
  
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  
• 1 teaspoon ginger
  
• 6 whole wheat tortillas (10 to 12 inches diameter)
  
• 6 tablespoons asian sauce (teriyaki, hosisin, general tsao, orange, whatever you want)
  
• 2 cups cooked chicken breast-shredded or cubed or diced
  

Directions:  

1.  Cook rice according to package directions, set aside.

2.  Meanwhile, in a medium nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add green onions, cook and stir 1 minute or until wilted.  Stir green onions into cooked rice. 

3.  fill 2 quart saucepan half full of water; heat to boiling.  Add snow peas and cook 30 seconds.  Drain and rinse with cold water until cool.  Pat dry and cut lengthwise into thin strips.  In medium bowl, stir together snow peas, cabbage, carrot, rice vinegar and ginger.

4.  To assemble wraps, lay tortillas on work surface. Spread each with 1 tablespoon sauce of your choice.  Place some of the chicken, rice and veggie mixture in the tortilla and wrap it up, burrito style.  

Kyle and I really liked these.  We used General Tsao sauce to flavor the wraps.  I also sautéed the chicken in some of the sauce because I thought it added more flavor.  

Orange Honey Chicken with Sesame

That honey bear in your cupboard adds flavor and richness to both sweet and savory dishes, like this Honey-Orange Chicken with Sesame. Served over rice, this dish is sure to be an asian delight tonight!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup(s) fresh orange juice
• 1/3 cup(s) orange blossom or clover honey
• 1 teaspoon(s) grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon(s) garlic
• 1 teaspoon(s) orange zest
• 1 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/8 teaspoon(s) ground black pepper
• 4 (6 ounces each) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• 1 teaspoon(s) vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon(s) toasted sesame oil (we didn't use this, because it's expensive to buy just for 1 teaspoon)
  
• 1 teaspoon(s) toasted sesame seeds

Directions

• 1. Combine juice, honey, ginger, garlic, zest, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Add chicken; stir to coat. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.
• 2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat until hot; add vegetable oil and swirl to coat. Lift chicken from marinade and let excess drip back into bowl. When oil is hot, add chicken and cook over medium heat 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown.
• 3. Add reserved marinade to skillet and boil over medium-high heat, turning chicken once or twice, 3 to 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and sauce is reduced by half. Transfer chicken to a cutting board, cut into diagonal slices, and arrange on a platter. Stir sesame oil into thickened sauce and spoon it over chicken. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

We halved the marinade because we prefer to use tenders to breasts. It turned out very well, tasting sweet and tangy with a kick. I don't know what that means, but that's how I describe it. Easy to make.
Amazing! 4.5/5 stars