Mongolian Beef...

The Year of the Tiger began Sunday, February 14th and was brought in with fireworks shows around the world. While I am not Chinese, I have an appreciation for the variety of styles and flavors that Chinese cooking encompasses. I recently received a copy of Eileen Yin-Fei Lo's Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking for my birthday.

Eileen’s book is filled with specialty recipes that range from the familiar to the completely new: Wuxi Braised Pork Ribs, Fujian Red Rice Wor Bah, XO Sauce, Mu Shu Pork, and Beijing Baked Breads, to name a few. What is helpful, each section is accompanied by its own shopping list, techniques, and basic recipes.

For the ultimate payoff of delicious food, you'll need patience and perseverance; the book demands dedication. Then again, if Chinese cuisine were so easy to master, would Lo have devoted more than 300 pages to the topic? In the words of James Beard, who is quoted in the book: "In all the world there is only two really great cuisines: the Chinese and the French. China's…is the most complicated cuisine; it uses ingredients no other employs; and it is distinctive in that, for the most part, it is cuisine à la minute."

My challenge is to try a wide variety of her recipes and see if my taste buds can handle some of the hotter dishes. I decided last night to start in Mongolia with a modest spicy taste. It turned out quite delicious and an easy recipe to follow.

Here's wishing everyone a prosperous new year: Gong Xi Fa Cai!



Mongolian Beef

Ingredients:
1 pound flank steak
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon Oyster sauce
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
4 garlic cloves; finely minced
6 whole green onions
12 small dried red chilies, crushed
¼ cup Peanut oil

Wok Sauce
1 teaspoon minced tangerine zest
⅓ cup freshly-squeezed tangerine juice
¼ cup Chinese rice wine
2 tablespoons Oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Cut the flank steak lengthwise into ¼ -inch-wide strips. Cut the strips in half. In a small bowl, combine the flank steak with the hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, and garlic. Mix thoroughly to coat flank steak. Cover and refrigerate the flank steak for at least 15 minutes but not longer than 8 hours.

Cut the green onions on a sharp diagonal into 1½ -inch lengths. Combine and set aside the green onions and the dried chilies.

Set aside the peanut oil.

In a small bowl, combine the wok sauce ingredients and set aside.

All advance preparation may be completed up to 8 hours before you begin the final cooking steps.

Place a wok over the highest heat. When the wok is very hot, add half the cooking oil. Roll the oil around to coat the inside, and when the oil gives off just a wisp of smoke, add the flank steak. Stir and toss the flank steak until it loses its raw exterior color, about 1 minute. Immediately transfer the flank steak to a plate.

Immediately return the wok to the highest heat. Add the remaining peanut oil and, when the oil is hot, add the green onions and chilies. Stir and toss until the green onions brighten, about 2 minutes.

Stir the wok sauce, and pour into the wok. Return the flank steak to the wok, stir and toss until all the ingredients are glazed with sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Immediately transfer the stir-fry to a heated platter or 4 heated dinner plates and serve.

Serves 4

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George’s notes:

• Mongolian cuisine refers to the local culinary traditions of Mongolia and styled dishes. The extreme continental climate has affected the traditional diet, so the Mongolian cuisine primarily consists of dairy products, meat, and animal fats. Use of vegetables and spices is limited. Due to geographic proximity and deep historic ties with China and Russia, Mongolian cuisine is also influenced by Chinese and Russian cuisine.
• With the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Mongolia under the Bogd Khaan declared independence in 1911. However, the equally newly established Republic of China claimed Mongolia as part of its own territory.
• Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Ancient Chinese New Year is a reflection on how the people behaved and what they believed in the most.

General Tso’s Chicken...

Last night I was craving Chinese, which I often do ~ especially if I have not had it in a while. So, I thought why not General Tso’s. Despite the fact that General Tso’s Chicken is not really a Chinese dish, it is nevertheless one of the most popular dishes at Chinese restaurants. You may be surprised that General Tso's is very inexpensive to make, but some restaurants charge a premium for it, usually putting it with "Chef's Specialties" and the like on the menu, rather than with the ordinary chicken dishes.

Some may be asking, how did this non-Chinese dish get its name. Well, what I could find out; General Zou Zong-Tang was a general of the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty of China, responsible for suppressing Muslim uprisings. His name was used to frighten Muslim children for centuries after his death. It is questionable whether or not the General actually invented General Tso's Chicken . . . it seems more likely to have been the invention of Taiwanese immigrants to the United States and Europe, and then according to some folks who've done some poking into that side of the history, popularized it at New York City restaurants in the 1970s. Alternate spellings include General Cho, General Zo, General Zhou, General Jo, and General Tzo. It's pronounced "Djo," with the tongue hard against your teeth.

Here is an easy recipe I found some years ago in my local newspaper, The Ridgefield (CT) Press on how to make your own.



General Tso’s Chicken

Ingredients:
3 boneless chicken breast, cubed
3 eggs, beaten
½ cup and 2 teaspoon cornstarch, divided
5 dried pepper pods
1½ tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons rice wine
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1½ cups broccoli, separate into short stem and florets

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, for garnish

In a large bowl, thoroughly blend the ½ cup of cornstarch and the eggs; add the chicken and toss to coat. If the mixture bonds too well, add some vegetable oil to separate the pieces.

In a small bowl, prepare the sauce mixture by combining the 2 teaspoons cornstarch with the wine, vinegar, sugar and soy sauce.

Heat 1-2 inches of peanut oil in a wok to medium-high heat (350-400 degrees F). Fry the chicken in small batches, just long enough to cook the chicken through. Remove the chicken to absorbent paper. This step can be performed well in advance, along with the sauce mixture, with both refrigerated.

Leave a tablespoon or two of the oil in the wok. Add the pepper pods to the oil and stir-fry briefly, awakening the aroma but not burning them. Return the chicken to the wok and stir-fry until the pieces are crispy brown.

Add the sauce-mixture, broccoli and sesame seeds to the wok, tossing over the heat until the sauce caramelizes into a glaze and the broccoli is tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately along with steamed white rice.

Serves 4

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George’s notes:

• In my remarks on the recipe, "The Ridgefield Press reported that the basis for this recipe was compiled from over forty different versions of the dish, combining the best aspects of each, averaging sauce ratios, and simplifying the basic dish to it's core ingredients."
• The traditional sauce for General Tso's is a heavy, spicy glaze, different from the lighter broth-based sauces found on most other Chinese dishes. Some prefer a lighter Tso sauce, too, and this can be achieved by tripling the cornstarch in the sauce and adding a half-cup of fluid. The "fluid" can be chicken broth, water, or even fruit juice ~ both orange and pineapple have been used. Cook the sauce only 'til it thickens, instead of waiting for a glaze. This version of the sauce is actually more common in the local restaurants; if you're a Tso fan, it might be what you're used to.