Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

1 lb Beef (flank, rump, 1 sm Onion, halved and cut into
-sirloin), sliced 1/2 by 2 -1 1/2 inch squares
-by 3 inch strips 1 Clove garlic, minced
2 c Chinese chard (bok choy), A few gratings of ginger
-cut in 1 1/2 inch squares 2 tb Oil for frying

---------------------------GRAVY--------------------------------
1/2 tb Honey 1/2 c Water
1 tb Sherry wine 1/2 tb Cornstarch
1 tb Soy sauce ds MSG (optional)
1 tb Soy beans with chili ds 5-spices (optional)
-condiment * ds Salt

*(or if unavailable, substitute 5 or 6 drops Tabasco sauce)

Been returning to my culinary "roots" so to speak. I pulled out a
couple of great little cookbooks that I got years ago when I was
first getting into Oriental cooking. These are those little recipe
card like books with spiral bindings that you see here and there in
Asian markets and the like. I'd forgotten how good these recipes are
since collecting larger and flashier cookbooks, but these are some of
the recipes that convinced me that I really did want to become
proficient at Chinese cooking. They are simple, authentic and *very*
tasty!

This first one calls for beef, but the other night I substituted pork
for the beef and the result was excellent. The finished dish is
rich, as hot as you like it and slightly sweet. The only "exotic"
ingredient is the "soy beans with chili condiment" and it's not too
exotic these days. (Sorry, Jeff++no dried duck webs here!) Any market
with a good Oriental section should have it. The stuff I use is put
out in 8 oz. bottles by Lan Chi and is called "Chilli Paste with Soy
Bean". It's quite hot and has a wonderful, slightly "smoky" flavor.

(I'm copying these recipes out verbatim to capture the flavor of the
book.)

This blend of flavors will remind you of hot dishes from other parts
of the world. This chili flavor combine [sic] is entirely different
from the chili used in Mexican dishes, for instance

1. Mix gravy ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Heat wok on high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Slosh around. Add
vegetables and stir-fry until half done about 2 minutes. Remove to
platter.

3. Clean wok. Reheat over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Slosh
around. Add beef, garlic and ginger. Toss-fry for about 3 minutes
and when meat is pinkish add gravy ingredients. Stir-fry another
minute or so until thickened. Add precooked vegetables. Toss-fry
another minute to blend and heat through.

From "Quick and Easy Gourmet Wok Cooking" by Kay Shimizu. Shufunotomo
Co. Ltd., Tokyo. 1973. Distributed in the U.S. by Japan
Publications Trading Co. 1255 Howard St., S.F., Ca. 94103. ISBN
0-87040-245-5.

Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; July 11 1991.

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