Tomato Beef - Chinese cooking - Fan Ke Gnul Yok

8 ounces flank steak, well trimmed
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons thin soy sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon Shao Hsing rice cooking wine
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1-1/4 teaspoons sugar
5 tomatoes, about 2 pounds
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 slices ginger
3 tablespoons oyster-flavored sauce
4 scallions, cut into 2-inch sections

Halve the flank steak with the grain into two strips. Cut each strip across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place slices in a shallow bowl and sprinkle with the baking soda; stir to combine. Add the soy sauce, cornstarch, rice wine, sesame oil, and 1/4 teaspoon sugar. Stir to combine and set aside.
In a large pot, bring about 1-1/2 quarts of water to a boil over high heat. Add the tomatoes and cook 1 to 3 minutes, or until the tomato skins just break. Remove tomatoes with a slotted spoon and, when cool enough to handle, peel skins. Core tomatoes and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges.
Meanwhile, stir 1 teaspoon vegetable oil into the beef mixture. Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the remaining tablespoon vegetable oil and ginger, and stir-fry about 1 minute. Carefully add the beef, spreading it in the
wok. Cook, undisturbed, 1 to 2 minutes, letting beef begin to brown. Then, using a metal spatula, stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes, or until beef is browned but still slightly rare. Transfer the beef to a plate and set aside.
Add the tomatoes and remaining teaspoon of sugar to wok, and stir-fry 1 minute on high heat until tomatoes begin to soften. Add oyster sauce and 1/4 cup cold water, cover, and cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until the tomatoes are just limp. Add the beef and any juices that have accumulated on the plate, and the scallions, and stir-fry 1 minute, or until just heated through. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6 as part of a multi course meal.

Source: The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen: Classic Family Recipes for Celebration and Healing by Grace Young

Chop Suey - Pork with Vegetables
Yield: 4 Servings

2 ts Oil
2 c Cold diced roast pork
2 Carrots; pared, sliced thin diagonally
1 Kohlrabi, peeled, quartered, sliced thin
1 Onion, diced
1 Chinese vegetables, mixed, canned; drained
3 ts Soy sauce
Water
Salt
Rice; cooked

Fresh vegetables may be substituted for the canned Chinese vegetables. Use about 2 to 3 cups of a combination of thinly sliced green or sweet red pepper, celery, mushrooms, etc. plus a cup or so of bean sprouts. Heat oil in a large heavy skillet. Add the pork and cook, stirring, over high heat for about 1 minute or until any bits of fat on the pork are crisp. Add vegetables, soy sauce, and a couple of tablespoons of water and toss to mix. Cover skillet and cook over medium heat only until carrots and turnip are crisp-tender. This will take less than 10 minutes if the vegetables have been cut thinly enough. Stir in 2 tb. cornstarch mixed with about 1 cup of water to make a sauce and cook for a minute or less, stirring gently, until thickened. Serve with rice.
Adapted from: The Plan Ahead Cookbook by Ceil Dyer. 

Title: CHINESE STUFFED MUSHROOMS
Categories: Chinese, Appetizers
Yield: 1 servings

24 Fresh mushrooms (about 1 lb)
6 oz Uncooked, boneless lean pork
1/4 c Drained whole water
Chestnuts
3 Green onions
1/2 Small red or green pepper, seeded
1 sm Stalk celery
1 ts Cornstarch
1 ts Grated, pared fresh ginger root
2 ts Rice wine or dry sherry
1 ts Soy sauce
1/2 ts Hoi sin sauce
1 Egg white
3 c Vegetable oil
1/2 c All-purpose flour
BATTER
1/2 c Cornstarch
1/2 c All-purpose flour
1 1/2 ts Baking powder
3/4 ts Salt
1/2 c Milk
1/3 c Water

FOR MUSHROOMS: 1. Clean mushrooms by wiping with a damp cloth. Remove stems, chop stems finely and transfer to large bowl. 2. Finely chop pork, water chestnuts, onions, pepper and celery with sharp knife or in food processor. Add to chopped mushroom stems. Add cornstarch, ginger, wine, soy and hoi sin sauces and egg white. Mix well. 3. Spoon pork mixture into cavities of mushroom caps, mounding mixture in center. 4. Heat oil in wok over high heat until it reaches 375 degrees F. 5. Prepare batter. Carefully dip mushrooms in flour then in batter, coating completely. Fry 6 or 8 mushrooms at a time in hot oil until golden, about 5 minutes. Drain on absorbent paper.  FOR BATTER: 6. Combine cornstarch flour, baking powder and salt in bowl. Blend in milk and water. Yield: 2 dozen 

Title: Date Chewsticks
Categories: Snacks, Kids
Yield: 6 Servings

3 Eggs
1 ts Vanilla
1 ts Baking powder
1 c Sugar
1 c Dates
1 c Flour

I got this recipe from a lady who is now in her 90's and still going strong. She said this recipe came from the 1920's sometime and was used in my neck of the woods, out Barkerville way. (a gold rush town from the 1890's that has been made into a tourist trap) Because there were so many Chinese that came up to make there fortune, it ended up being called Chinese Chews, but she swears that the name is Date Chewsticks.

BEGIN RECIPE::::::::

NOTE: no margarine or shortening!!!!

Beat eggs and sugar, add baking powder, vanilla, and flour. Add the dates last and mix thoroughly. Batter will be thick. Pour into a greased 8 x 8 pan and bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. When cooled sprinkle icing sugar over the top and rub in until completely coated with icing sugar.

Can be doubled and baked in a 9 x 13 pan. Takes about 10 - 15 minutes longer.

I have also used that candied fruit that is available at Xmas in place of the dates and it is wonderful. To make it real fancy for a "DO", use a paper doily before sprinkling the icing sugar on top.

Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls(Cha Gio Chay) - vegetarian
Yield: 40 rolls

-----------------------ACCOMPANIMENTS----------------------------
Vegetable Platter
8 oz Thin rice vermicelli (bun)
-OR:
2 bn Japanese alimentary paste
-noodles (somen).
Peanut sauce or Nuoc Cham

--------------------------FILLING-------------------------------
1 oz Cellophane (bean thread)
-noodles
1 tb Dried tree ear mushrooms
6 Dried Chinese mushrooms
1 lg Carrot, finely shredded
1 lg Leek, white part only, chopped
6 Water chestnuts, or 1/2 sm Jicama, peeled and chopped
1 lb Firm bean curd (tofu), -crumbled
1 c Fresh bean sprouts, coarsely chopped
6 Garlic cloves, minced 
3 tb Nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce) [to keep this recipe vegetarian use soy sauce instead] 
2 Eggs
1/2 ts Freshly ground black pepper

--------------------ASSEMBLY AND FRYING-------------------------
1/2 c Sugar
40 sm Rounds of rice papers (banh -trang), 6 1/2 inches in diameter
Peanut oil for frying

The book notes that true Buddhist vegetarians would not use garlic or fish sauce and would limit the dips to plain soy or plum sauce.Unless you are in this category, Peanut Sauce (Nuoc Leo) and Nuoc Cham are great dips as well.

Prepare the Vegetable Platter, noodles and dipping sauce. Set aside.

Soak the noodles in warm water and the mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes; drain. Cut the noodles into 1/2-inch lengths. Remove and discard the stems from the mushrooms; squeeze to extract most of the soaking liquid. Mince all of the mushrooms. Combine all of the filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl; blend well with your hands. Set aside.

Assemble the rolls: Fill a large bowl with 4 cups of warm water and dissolve the sugar in it. Rice paper is quite fragile. Work with only 4 sheets at a time, keeping the remaining sheets covered with a barely damp cloth to prevent curling. Immerse the rice paper, one sheet at a time, into the sweetened warm water. Quickly withdraw it and lay it flat on a dry towel. Do this with 4 sheets without letting them touch each other. The rice paper will become pliable within seconds. Fold over the bottom third of each round. Put 1 generous teaspoon of filling in the center of the folded-over portion. Press it into a compact rectangle. Fold one side of the paper over the mixture, then the other side. Roll from the bottom to the top to completely enclose the filling. Continue until all of the mixture is used. (The rolls can be prepared 1 day in advance. Wrap and refrigerate.) 
Fry the rolls: If possible use 2 skillets. Pour 1 to 1 1/2 inches of oil into each skillet and heat to 325F. Working in batches, add some of the rolls without letting them touch, or they will stick together. Fry for 10 to 12 minutes, turning often, until golden and crisp. Remove the rolls from the oil with tongs and drain on paper towels. Keep warm in a low oven until all of the rolls are cooked.
To serve, each diner wraps a roll in a lettuce leaf along with some noodles and selected items from the Vegetable Platter and dips the package in the dipping sauce.

NOTE: The fried rolls can be frozen, then thawed and reheated in a 350F oven just to crisp and heat through.

Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02

Title: CHICKEN WITH PINEAPPLE (BO-LO-SHAO-JI)
Categories: Chinese, Chicken
Yield: 8 servings

1 Whole chicken
-(about 2 pounds)

-------------------------MIXTURE A-------------------------
4 tb Light soy sauce
1 tb Dark soy sauce
1 tb Sake or Chinese rice wine
1 Onion, cut into 1/2-inch
-cubes
3 sl Canned pineapple, cut into
-1/2-inch cubes
2/3 c Juice from the pineapple can
2 1/2 c Water
1 tb Cornstarch dissolved in 2
-Tablespoons water)
1 tb Sasame oil
Chinese parsley for garnish
3 tb Salad oil
3 c Oil for deep-frying

Clean the cavity of the chicken with a cloth.
Prick all over the skin with a fork. Wipe off any
moisture. Place the chicken in a bowl. Pour Mixture A
over the chicken and let stand for about 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken and reserve the marinade.

Heat 3 cups of frying oil to 350F in a wok. Add
the chicken and fry until golden, spooning hot oil
over it from time to time with a ladle. Remove the
chicken and drain on a rack. Pour off oil from the
wok.

Heat 3 tablespoons fresh salad oil in the wok
and sute the onions until they become fragrant. Add
the reserved marinade and pineapple juice; bring to a
boil. Add the water and chicken. Cover and cook for
25 minutes.

Remove the chicken when the liquid is reduced to
1 cup. Add the pineapple chunls top the liquid and
cook over very low heat for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the chicken into 2-inch pieces,
leaving the bone attached. Arrange them on a platter.

If necessary, thicken the pineapple sauce with a
litle dissolved cornstarch. Sprinkle with sesame oil
and stir well. Pour the sauce over the chicken,
garnish with Chinese parsley (coriander) leaves and
serve.

[Fu Pei Mei's Chinese Cooking; Japan; ISBN:
4-07-974788-8]

Posted by Fred Peters.

Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02

Title: CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD (WEIGHT WATCHERS MAGAZI
Categories: Chinese, Chicken, Salads
Yield: 6 servings

1 tb Rice wine vinegar
1 ts Canola oil
1 ts Sesame oil
1 tb Toasted sesame seeds
1/2 ts Ground ginger
3 c Torn romaine lettuce
3 c Shredded red cabbage
1 c Drained canned sliced water
-chestnuts
8 oz Cooked skinless boneless
-chicken breast, cut into
-strips
1 oz Sliced almonds
Lemon juice

Adapted from Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA.
Foodservice: Harry M. Stevens

1. In small bowl, combine vinegar, canola and sesame
oil with 1 T. water; whisk in sesame seeds and ginger;
set aside.

2. Divide lettuce, cabbage and water chestnuts evenly
among 4 plates. Top each evenly with chicken; sprinkle
evenly with almonds. Drizzle dressing over salad.
Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Each serving provides: 1 FA, 2 1/2 P, 3 V, 1/2 B, 15 C
Per serving: 208 cal, 21 g pro, 9 g fat, 11 g car, 56
mg sod, 48 mg chol

Posted by: Valerie Whittle