Mongolian Beef, by Beverly Hicks Burch

Mongolian Beef

Adapted from a recipe from Kylie Kwong

By Beverly Hicks Burch

I’ve had Mongolian Beef before and I have other Mongolian Beef recipes. Kylie’s is unlike any other I’ve seen or tried, so for my birthday this year, we broke out the wok and prepared this dish. It was scrumptious.

I’ve made a few changes…of course! Next time I make this I may make just a little more “sauce”, but it’s still good this way. Kylie uses ground beef…I use a ground round or ground sirloin. I may also try a finely minced sirloin tip steak when I make it in the future.

We served this with rice. I guarantee you’ll enjoy this version of Mongolian Beef.

Mongolian Beef

1 ¼ pound ground round or sirloin

5 cups chopped Chinese cabbage, bok choy will work

2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons dry sherry

2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon malt vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 small carrot finely sliced or grated

½ medium red bell pepper, sliced thinly

¾ cup chopped green onions

Meat Marinade:

2 tablespoon dry sherry

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, diced finely

3 cloves garlic, finely diced

½ teaspoon sesame oil

Mix marinade ingredients and add to the ground beef. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.

Wash and dry cabbage. Chop and place in a large bowl. Toss with salt and let stand 15 minutes. Rinse with cold water, drain and dry well, squeezing excess water out with hands if need be.

In wok, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on high. When hot add half the meat and stir fry for about 30 seconds. Break the meat up into small pieces. Remove the meat from the wok and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the wok and when hot, add the remaining meat and stir fry in for about 30 seconds or until meat is no longer pink.

Then stir in sherry, Hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil. Stir fry 30 seconds.

Next, add cabbage, carrot and pepper and stir fry for about 1 minute. Lastly, add green onions and remove from heat.

Garnish with green onions.

Enjoy!

Chinese Sweet Corn Soup, by Beverly Hicks Burch

Chinese Sweet Corn Soup

Adapted from a recipe from Kylie Kwong

By Beverly Hicks Burch

Although I had never had it before nor heard of it, Kylie says this soup is a Chinese classic. According to her, some versions are thickened with an agent such as cornstarch, but she prefers it “au natural”.

Kylie also uses sweet corn cut fresh from the cob. I’ve changed that a bit since cutting corn from the cob is hard for me because of my joint problems. Of course you can find fresh corn in the produce section already cut and bagged…or you can have a great sous chef like mine…called Tall & Handsome. When all else fails I resort to frozen sweet corn. Yes, it works just as well…

Kylie also makes her own Chinese chicken stock…different version to be exact. For time sake and as I mentioned because of health limitations, I use Swanson’s chicken broth (my family has used chicken broth in their cooking long before it was the vogue.)

This make a large pot of soup, and it would be easy to half the recipe for a small “crowd”.

Enjoy!

© 2009 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.

Chinese Sweet Corn  Soup

3 cups corn kernels (frozen or fresh)

2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil

1 small white onion

2 tablespoon finely diced fresh ginger

1 – 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

½ cup dry sherry

7 cups chicken broth or stock

1 ½ teaspoons soy sauce

2 eggs, beaten

Chopped green onions for garnish

Heat oil in a large pot. Sauté onion, garlic, ginger and salt for one minute.

Add dry sherry and simmer for about a minute, then stir in corn and chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Next, add soy sauce and stir. Lower the heat further. Take the beaten eggs and holding the bowl slightly high over the pan, pour the eggs into the soup in a thin stream, stirring the soup as you do with a fork. This technique results in “egg ribbons” similar to egg drop soup.

Serve the soup on bowls and garnish with green onions.

Enjoy!

Stir Fried Asparagus with Garlic, by Beverly Hicks Burch

Stir Fried Asparagus with Garlic

Adapted from a recipe from Kylie Kwong

By Beverly Hicks Burch

As usual, I’ve “Bevized” the recipe to fit my needs and our tastes, but the Asian essence is still present…and delicious! Based on how much we enjoyed this…I may double the recipe next time…

Stir Fried Asparagus with Garlic

1 pound fresh asparagus

2 tablespoon peanut oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1/3 cup chicken broth or stock

1 ½ teaspoon sesame seed oil (can adjust to your taste)

Prepare asparagus by washing and removing woody ends. Cut on the diagonal in half.

Heat oil in a wok on high. Add garlic and salt and stir fry just a few seconds…about 10. Then add asparagus and stir fry for one minute.

Next add sherry and continue cooking 30 seconds.

Add chicken broth and stir fry and additional 30 seconds.

Season with sesame oil and serve immediately.