Wednesday, November 14, 2012

A Personal Victory

Okay, this is another recipe. But this is pretty exciting for me, because I find recipes like this one to be somewhat intimidating. I'm not sure why, but I've just always been afraid to try Asian recipes because they seem more intricate than others. However, I found this recipe and tried it out, tweaked it, and made it again a few months later.

Holy crap. It was so delicious.

I LOVE Pei Wei's Mongolian Beef-- Every time I go there I order it, and it's just so delicious. That's what I was going for with this recipe and I feel rather proud that I got extraordinarily similar results.


(As a bonus, this dish was incredibly inexpensive to make and I got plenty of leftovers. I froze the leftover sauce.)

Here is what you'll need:
A medium skillet, filled with about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil
1/2 Tsp ginger, minced (you can buy fresh and freeze the rest)
1 Tbsp garlic, chopped
8 oz white mushrooms, quartered
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tsp vegetable oil
1 lb flank steak, cut against the grain into bite-sized strips
1/4 cup corn starch
 2 large green onions, chopped

(While you're making the sauce and beef, cook your rice however you like it. I usually cook 1 cup dry rice with 2 cups water and a splash of olive oil to keep it from bubbling over.)

First, heat 2 tsp. of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat.  Don't get the oil too hot. Add ginger, garlic, and mushrooms to the pan and in about 2 minutes add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce using a whisk for smoothness, then increase the heat to medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat. 

Next, put the cornstarch on a plate and coat your steak strips. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes while your large pan of oil heats-- this will help the cornstarch stick. Once the oil is hot and the beef has sat, start frying it in the oil-- don't crowd the pan. As the pieces cook, flip once. When they're done, pull the beef and set the strips on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain the oil.  

When your rice and beef are done, serve with green onions and sauce! Personally, I think it tastes best with the beef on top of the rice, topped with the sauce, and sprinkled with chopped green onions. 

The last step: feel proud and brag to your friends. You're welcome.


Sunday, November 4, 2012

When It's Chilly Outside...

It's time to make chili inside!

That's exactly what we did about two weeks ago (yes, it's taken me a while to get to posting this). We made homemade chili and it was an incredibly simple recipe. I know there are a lot of different ways to make chili, like with chicken or turkey, there's spicy and mild, there's even white chili. But we just made good old fashioned beef chili and added a few things for our specific tastes.


You'll note several crucial things about this picture. First, we ate our chili with biscuits instead of cornbread. Something about chili and biscuits just seems heartier in a stick to your ribs, give you high cholesterol kind of way. Second, I took this picture with little to no warning for Eric. Third, he will probably be a little less than thrilled that I ended up posting it. But the most important is that he is so excited to try this chili that his tongue is escaping from his mouth to get to the bowl. I know, that's pretty impressive.

Here are the ingredients for the chili:
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tbsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp chili powder
2 pounds ground beef
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 can Rotel
1/4 cup finely chopped onion 

The easiest way to do this is to start by browning your meat, onions, and garlic (minced) in a large pot. As they cook and brown up, combine the oregano, paprika, cayenne, and chili powder in a small bowl and set aside. Once your meat is cooked through, drain off any excess fat and then sprinkle the spices over the top. Add your tomato sauce (you can double the amount of sauce if you prefer thinner chili) and Rotel and stir it up well. Let this simmer for about 15-20 minutes. If the chili gets too dry for your taste, add 1/4 cup of water as needed. 

When it's all simmered and delicious and you just can't wait any longer, serve it up! We like to keep things simple by adding a little cheese on top, but you can add salsa, cracker crumbs, whatever you like. Enjoy!