Chinese Cooking

Mongolian Beef is one of my personal favorite Chinese dishes. I was excited when I found this video showing how to cook it from Youtube. So, I wanted to share with you.

Mongolian Beef is a quick and easy dish to make. After you have the ingredients prepared, it just takes a few minutes of stir frying and you’re done.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make it:

Mongolian Beef Recipe

1/2 lb beef (flank steak works well)
2 tbsp sherry cooking wine
1 tsp corn starch
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 cloves garlic
2 chilis
6 green onion

Watch to learn how it’s done…

Yum! Enjoy!

When we think of Chinese food, the dishes most of us are familiar with come from the Eastern part of China - Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing.

However, there are many wonderful and unique dishes from the other 2/3 of China that many of use are not familiar with. Some of these areas include Xinjiang, Tibet, Yunnan and Guizhou just to name a few.

Each of these areas have their own interesting cultures, history, and culinary traditions.

A popular cooking club picked the cookbook entitled Beyond the Great Wall as cookbook of the month for July. This cookbook features recipes and food from these little known regions in China.

The cookbook is a real gem because the authors spent over 25 years visiting these “other” areas of China and sampling the delicious Chinese cuisine in each area. They share their experiences for us in this cookbook.

All I can say is they must have really enjoyed what they sampled to stay there 25 years! Some of the featured dishes found in the cookbook include Mongolian stews, flatbreads, and Central Asian kabobs.

In addition to the fantastic recipes and food outlined in the cookbook is beautiful photography of the surrounding landscape and of the Chinese dishes themselves.

Check out Beyond the Great Wall and learn about a whole other world of delicious Chinese food you’ve been missing out on!

…of course not to mention also delicious!

Here’s a video featuring a Master Chinese chef…

Chef Martin Yan, well known TV chef and Chinese Cookbook author, talks about how easy cooking Chinese food can be.

He tells us what the most important seasonings/ingredients are to nearly all Chinese dishes.

He also explains that Chinese food is no only delicious, but can be healthy too. He should know…the man’s 88 years old and looks about half that!

Check out Martin’s newest cookbook, Martin Yan’s China, for his awesome and delicious Chinese recipes and Chinese cooking tips.

Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year. It lasts for a total of 15 days. Why does it fall on today you might ask, since it’s February to many people? That’s because the Chinese New Year is based on the Chinese Lunar Calendar, which marks today as the first day of the first month of a new year.

The Chinese New Year is a major traditional Chinese holiday. Communities throughout the world celebrate the Chinese New Year. Celebrations can differ by location, but often it’s a time to enjoy visiting with family and friends. Many families decorate their houses, with an emphasis on the color red (hey, like this website!). Fireworks also play an important part in the celebrations… But you know what else?

Food is also a big part in the celebrations!

There is probably more food consumed during the Chinese New Year than any other time of the year!

Fish, Chicken, Dumplings, various vegetarian combinations, sticky rice cakes, and many other Chinese food dishes are enjoyed during the 15 days of the Chinese New Year.

Traditionally, on the first day of the Chinese New Year, many people will eat vegetarian food.

For all sorts of delicious Chinese recipes that you can enjoy throughout the Chinese New Year, you should check out Chef Nicholas Zhou’s Chinese Cookbook. He has over 500 wonderful Chinese recipes inside. With 500 recipes, there’s a huge variety of authentic Chinese dishes. Many are quick and easy to prepare. He also focuses on making Chinese Food that’s healthy and good for you… and of course DELICIOUS!

You’ll want to check it out, Here’s the link:

Chef Zhou’s healthy & delicious recipes

Enjoy!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Ingredients

4 medium tomatoes
2 tablespoon oil
2 pound flank steak
1 md green pepper — sliced
3 tablespoon soy sauce
1 md onion — sliced
2 tablespoon dry sherry
1 beef bouillon cube
10 milliliter garlic — minced
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoon cold water

Directions:

Thinly slice beef on the diagonal (for easy slicing,place meat in the
freezer until slightly frozen);place in a snug-fitting bowl.

Combine soy sauce,sherry,garlic,and black pepper;pour over meat,tossing to coat completely.
Cover and refrigerate 8 to 10 hours.

In a large skillet or wok, heat oil. Add green pepper and onion saute for 2 minutes. Dissolve
bouillon cube in boiling water. Add beef and marinate. Bring to boiling point. Reduce heat and simmer,covered for 8 minutes.

Blend cornstarch with cold water. Stir into mixture in skillet. Cook and stir until thickened. Cut tomatoes into wedges;add to skillet;stir gently. Cover and simmer, just until tomatoes are hot,about 3 minutes.Serve hot over rice with scallions,if desired.

Serves 6 to 8.

Ingredients

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup fresh mushrooms — sliced
3 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup bamboo shoots — cut diag
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup celery — diagonally cut
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup onion — cut in thin strips
2 tablespoon sherry
10 water chestnuts — thin sliced
1 cup blanched almonds or walnuts
1/3 cup chicken stock
2 cup peanut oil

Directions:

Cut chicken into shreds. Smear with a mixture of soy sauce, salt, cornstarch and Sherry; set aside.

Fry almonds or walnuts until golden in 1 1/2 cups hot oil. Pour off oil; drain almonds on
a paper towel.

Reheat pan; add 3 tablespoons oil. Saute vegetables for 1 minute; drain off oil and set aside. Heat 4 tablespoons oil; saute chicken for 1 minute. Mix in vegetables and stock; simmer 1 minute. Add almonds or walnuts. Serve with rice.

Serves 4 to 6 people.

Ingredients
2 whole chickens — quartered
1/4 cup salad oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
15 1/2 ounces pineapple chunks in syrup — unsweetened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 large green or red pepper — cut in 1/2″” slices

Directions:

Wash chicken, pat dry. heat oil in large skillet, add chicken, a few
pieces at a time and brown on all sides. Remove as browned to shallow
roasting pan. Arrange pieces skin side up. Sprinkle with salt and
pepper.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make sauce, drain the pineapple chunks pouring syrup into 2 cup measure, add water to make 1 1/4 cups. In medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, pineapple syrup, vinegar, soy sauce. ginger and bouillon cube.

Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Boil 2 minutes. Pour over chicken. Bake uncovered 30 minutes. Add pineapple chucks and green or red peppers. Bake 30 minutes longer or until chicken is tender.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons oil
2 cloves garlic — minced
2 small chicken breasts, boneless — cut
8 mushrooms — sliced
2 stalks celery — cut into strips
1/4 cup bamboo shoots — sliced

seasoning sauce:
1 chicken bouillon cube — dissolve 1
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon cornstarch
5 ounces chow mein noodles

Directions:

Note: Warm chow mein noodles in 325 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Combine sauce ingredients and set aside. Add oil to hot wok. Swirl, add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add chicken. Stir fry for 3 minutes or until chicken turns opaque. Remove and set side. Add vegetables and stir fry over medium heat for 2 minutes. Push vegetables to sides of wok.

Restir sauce mixture and add to center of wok, stirring until thick and bubbly. Add chicken and heat. Serve with chow mein noodles.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons sherry
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon oil
2 cups chicken — cubed
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3 tablespoons oil
1 cup celery — sliced diagonally
1 cup pea pods — frozen
1 cup fresh mushrooms — sliced
1/2 cup waterchestnuts — sliced
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions:
In medium mixing bowl combine cornstarch, soy sauce, sherry, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon oil. Add cubed chicken and toss to coat. Set aside. Preheat electric wok at 350 degrees. Toast almonds, stirring constantly until lightly browned, about 3 minutes, remove.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in wok, uncovered, to 375 degrees, add chicken mixture. Stir fry 3 to 4 minutes, push up side of wok, add celery and pea pods, stir fry 2 to 3 minutes, push up sides of wok, add mushrooms, scallions and waterchestnuts, stir fry 2 minutes. Add stock and combine all ingredients.

Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Meanwhile combine cornstarch, water and soy sauce, pour into chicken mixture, stirring until thickened. Garnish with toasted almonds. Reduce heat setting to warm for serving. Serve over cooked rice.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 pound boneless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup broccoli forets
1 1/2 cup water
2 ounce snow peas (about 1/2 c)
2 teaspoon imported soy sauce
1 med carrot thinly sliced
1 teaspoon white or rice vinegar
1/2 med red or green pepper
hot cooked rice
1 env golden onion soup mix

Directions:
Chicken breasts should be cut into thin strips. Sweet pepper should be cut into thin strips.

In large skillet, heat oil and cook chicken with vegetables over medium- high heat, stirring constantly. 10 minutes or until chicken is golden and vegetables are crisp-tender. Thoroughly blend golden onion recipe soup mix, cornstarch, ginger, water, soy sauce and vinegar; stir into chicken mixture. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered t minutes or until sauce is thickened. Serve over hot rice and garnish, if desired, with sliced green onion and toasted sesame seeds.

MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS: Omit oil and degrease ginger to 1/4 t. In 2-quart
casserole, heat chicken, uncovered, at HIGH (Full Power) 4 minutes or
until almost done; remove chicken and drain. Add vegetables to casserole
and heat uncovered 5 minutes at HIGH (Full Power). Thoroughly blend golden
onion soup mix, cornstarch, ginger, water, soy sauce and vinegar; stir
into vegetables. Heat uncovered 5 minutes on HIGH (Full Power) or until
sauce is thickened, stirring once. Return chicken to casserole and heat 1
minute or until heated through. Let stand covered 5 minutes. Serve and
garnish as above. Converted by MMCONV vers. 1.00