Farmhouse Stir-Fried Pork with Green Peppers

Another quick and easy, yet delicious option for dinner. It's dishes like these that always keep me going back to cooking Chinese food.

One year ago: Sesame-Crusted Roast Chicken in Tahini and Caper Sauce
Two years ago: Cornbread
Three years ago: Scrambled Eggs with Broccoli Pesto

Farmhouse Stir-Fried Pork with Green Peppers (from Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook)

Ingredients
9 ounces Italian frying peppers (or green bell peppers)
1 3/4 ounces pork belly or thickly sliced bacon
7 ounces lean boneless pork
1 tsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tsp black fermented beans, rinsed
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water
3 tbsp peanut oil

1. Cut off and discard stems of pepper. Slice into 1 1/4" chunks.
2. Cut pork belly and lean pork into thin slices. Set pork belly aside.
3. Add Shaoxing wine and soy sauces to lean pork. Mix well and set aside.
4. Smear wok with a little oil and heat over medium heat. Add peppers and stir-fry for 5 minutes until fragrant and tender and skins are golden and puckered. Remove and set aside.
5. Reheat wok over high heat and add 2 tbsp oil. Add pork belly and stir-fry until slices are golden.
6. Add garlic and black beans and stir-fry until fragrant.
7. Add lean pork and cook until it has changed color and lost most of its water content.
8. Return peppers to wok and stir-fry for another minute.
9. Add cornstarch mixture to wok and stir until sauce clings to meat.

Rice Noodles with Beef and Broccoli in Cantonese-Style Gravy

Although this came from my Thai cookbook, it has a decidedly Chinese taste to it. The original recipe calls for a pound of noodles which seemed like a bit much for the amount of beef and broccoli. I would highly recommend reducing to what you think works for you.

One year ago: Red Beef Curry with Squash
Two years ago: Multi-Grain Pasta with Lamb and Butternut Squash
Three years ago: Double Broccoli Quinoa

Rice Noodles with Beef and Broccoli in Cantonese-Style Gravy (from Real Thai)

Ingredients
3 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cups cooked rice noodles (see header note to reduce)
2 tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
1/2 lb beef, thinly sliced across the grain into 2"x1" strips
3 cups cut-up Chinese broccoli or small broccoli florets
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp brown bean sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 3 tbsp water
1 cup chicken stock

1. Heat wok over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of oil. Add noodles and stir-fry 1 minute to separate. Transfer to platter.
2. Add remaining 1 tbsp oil to wok. Add garlic and toss until golden, 30 seconds.
3. Add beef and stir-fry until it changes color, 1 minute.
4. Add broccoli and stir-fry until bright green and shiny, 30 seconds.
5. Add fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, bean sauce, and sugar. Toss well.
6. Add cornstarch mixture and stock. Simmer until sauce thickens, 2 - 3 minutes.
7. Pour sauce over noodles, toss, and serve.

Martin Yan's Genghis Khan Beef

I'm not entirely sure how it got to be the middle of March. This quick and easy dish is perfect for a quick weeknight meal. It has a 20 minute marinade, but a very fast cook time. The hoisin and chili combination makes a great sauce.

One year ago: Fall-Apart Lamb Shanks with Almond-Chocolate Picade
Two years ago: Impossible Chocolate Flan
Three years ago: Tostados

Martin Yan's Genghis Khan Beef (from The Breath of a Wok)

Ingredients
1 tbsp black soy sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 1/2 tsp cornstarch
12 ounces flank steak, cut into 1/2" cubes
10 scallions
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp chili sambal
1 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp thinly sliced garlic
6 fresh red Thai chilies, stemmed

1. In a medium bowl combine soy sauces and cornstarch. Add beef, stir to coat, and let stand 20 minutes.
2. Cut white part of scallions into 3" pieces. Sliver green part of scallions to measure 1/4 to garnish.
3. In small bowl, combine hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and chili sambal.
4. Heat wok over high heat. Swirl in 1 tbsp oil and add beef. Sear for 30 seconds. Stir-fry 1 - 2 minutes until browned. Transfer to plate.
5. Swirl remaining oil into wok. Add garlic and chilies and stir-fry until fragrant, 15 seconds.
6. Add white parts of scallions and stir-fry 1 minute.
7. Return beef to wok. Add hoisin sauce mixture and stir-fry 30 seconds.
8. Garnish with slivered scallions and serve.

Drumsticks with Caramelized Onions

This is a simple dish that is so much more than the sum of its parts. I could not stop eating the caramelized onion and I'm not usually a big onion fan. I only cooked 2 drumsticks, but kept everything else the same. I might use a larger onion and make a bit more sauce if making the full recipe.

Two years ago: Braided Brie and Pear Bread

Drumsticks with Caramelized Onions (from The Breath of a Wok)

Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp thinly sliced garlic
1 tbsp finely shredded ginger
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
8 chicken drumsticks
1/3 cup finely shredded scallions
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil

1. Heat a 14" flat-bottomed work over high heat. Swirl in vegetable oil, add garlic and ginger, and stir-fry 10 seconds.
2. Add onion, 1/2 tsp of salt, and the pepper. Stir-fry on medium heat 3 - 4 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add drumsticks, spreading them evenly and pan-fry 20 - 25 minutes over medium heat, turning drumsticks until well-browned and chicken is cooked through.
4. Add cooked onions and remaining 1/4 tsp salt. Stir.
5. Add scallions, oyster sauce, and sesame oil, stirring over low heat until well combined.

Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Chicken Slivers

I stumbled across this dish while trying to figure out what to do with the other half of a box of rice noodles. As a bonus, this recipe also used up my remaining dried shiitake mushrooms. This dish is fantastic. After the 30 minute soaking time for the noodles and mushrooms, it comes together incredibly quickly. It has a little bit of heat and a depth of flavour. Don't worry if on the first frying, your noodles start sticking together. That just means it's time to take them off heat. They'll separate better once you return them to heat later in the cooking process.

One year ago: Chocolate Mousse
Two years ago: Gorgonzola and Grape Pizza

Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Chicken Slivers (from Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook)

Ingredients
2 boneless chicken breast halves (340g)
4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked for 30 minutes in hot water
140g rice noodles, soaked for 30 minutes
3 scallions, green parts only, sliced into 1 1/2" slivers
2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
2 tsp finely chopped garlic
2 tsp chopped salted chiles (or sambal oelek)
2 tsp soy sauce
salt and white pepper
140g bean sprouts
1 tsp sesame oil
5 tbsp peanut oil, divided
Marinade
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp potato flour or cornstarch
1 tsp Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp water

1. Cut chicken breasts along the grain into fine slivers. Place in bowl with marinade ingredients and mix well.
2. Drain mushrooms, squeeze dry, remove stems, and cut into fine slices.
3. Heat wok over high heat. Add 3 tbsp oil and swirl around. Add drained noodles and stir-fry until fragrant. Set aside.
4. Reheat wok with 2 tbsp of fresh oil. Add chicken slivers and stir-fry until they separate.
5. Add ginger, garlic, chiles, and mushrooms and stir-fry until fragrant.
6. Add hot noodles and stir-fry, adding soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
7. Stir in bean sprouts and stir-fry until hot.
8. Add scallion greens and stir-fry. Remove from heat, stir in sesame oil, and serve immediately.

Pea Shoot and Cabbage Stir-Fry

This dish was a happy accident. While looking up the planned salad for the night in a book's index, I noticed this one instead. It had Chinese in the original title. I was making Chinese! As I investigated, I noticed that it also used cabbage. Have I mentioned my on-going battle to reduce that amount of cabbage I have? I heavily edited this recipe, removing the mushrooms to greatly reduce the cook time (and because I was serving it as a side instead of a main dish) and omitting the long beans and water chestnuts because I didn't have any on hand. I only needed the dish to be passable, but it was actually good! Success! Pea shoots gone and half a cabbage gone as well! I scaled the recipe down, keeping the proportions the same after the many edits, but the original in terms of amount is included below.

Pea Shoot and Cabbage Stir-Fry (heavily edited, originally Chinese Vegetable Stir-Fry from Gourmet Today)

Ingredients
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 bunch scallions, halved lengthwise and cut into 2" pieces
1 (900g) Napa cabbage, halved lengthwise, cored, and cut crosswise into 2" wide pieces
450g pea shoots, coarsely chopped (or watercress)
2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1. In a small bowl, stir together 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp rice wine, and 2 tsp sugar.
2. Heat wok over high heat. Pour on oil. Stir in ginger, garlic, and scallions and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add cabbage and toss until wilted, 4 - 6 minutes.
4. Add pea shoots and stir-fry until wilted, 2 - 4 minutes.
5. Stir in sauce mixture.
6. Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil, salt, and pepper.

Penang-Style Stir-Fried Kuey Teow Noodles

It's sad to say, but I haven't had nearly enough time to cook lately. At least I finally got around to trying my first recipe out of Cradle of Flavor. This one is simple and a definite success. I may have roughly doubled the recipe because the shrimp I bought was 340g instead of 200g and I didn't feel like scaling down. If you do something similar, be careful not to make the dish too spicy. The chiles go a long way. My flavour paste never really became paste-like either, but I'm going to blame that on my poor quality food processor. Make sure you get everything ready to go for this dish while the chili peppers are soaking, because it cooks up fairly quickly once it gets started. This makes 2 servings.

Penang-Style Stir-Fried Kuey Teow Noodles (from Cradle of Flavor)

Ingredients
225g fresh flat rice noodles, rinsed and drained, or dried hor fun noodles
3 small dried red chiles such as arbol, stemmed and broken in half
1 tsp dried shrimp paste
3 tbsp peanut oil
2 tbsp double-black soy sauce (she recommends Pearl River)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp water
2 cloves garlic, chopped
200g medium-sized shrimp, peeled, heads removed, and deveined
1 large egg, cracked into a bowl or cup
1 1/2 cup bean sprouts
7 Chinese chives or 5 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths
Kosher salt to taste

1. Place the chiles in a bowl. Add warm water to cover and soak for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, if you're using dried noodles, cook and set aside (30 seconds to 2 minutes in boiling water, toss with oil to prevent clumping). Chop veggies and prepare all other ingredients.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl or cup, combine soy sauce, sugar, and 1 tsp water. Set aside.
4. Meanwhile, place the shrimp paste in the center of a square of aluminum foil. Fold the foil over the paste to make a parcel. Press down with the heel of your hand to flatten into a 1/4 inch thick disk. Heat a gas burner to medium-low or an electric burner to medium-high. Place the parcel directly on the heat source. Toast until it begins to smoke and release a shrimpy smell, about 90 seconds. With tongs or other creative grasping device, flip the parcel and toast the other side for 90 seconds. Turn off burner and let cool for a minute. Unwrap the parcel, transfer to a small bowl and cool for another 30 seconds.
5. Remove the chiles from the water and add chiles and shrimp paste to a small food processor. Pulse until smooth and the consistency of creamy mashed potatoes. You can add up to 2 tbsp of water to help you.
6. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the paste and saute until the paste begins to separate from the oil, 4 - 6 minutes. Transfer paste to bowl and set aside.
7. Add 2 tbsp oil over medium-high heat to the skillet. Saute garlic until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the paste and stir well to combine.
8. Add the shrimp and raise heat to high. Stir-fry until shrimp are pink, about 2 minutes.
9. Add rice noodles and soy sauce mixture. Stir-fry until noodles are heated and have soaked up most of the liquid, about 2 minutes.
10. Make a well in the center of the noodles and pour in the egg. Scramble the egg in the well. Let rest until it begins to set, about 30 seconds. Mix the noodles and egg together.
11. Add bean sprouts and chives/scallions. Stir-fry until they begin to wilt, about 30 seconds. Add salt if desired.
12. Divide onto 2 plates and serve.

Pork Strips

I can't remember the last time I've cooked with pork (unless you count bacon), so I guess now is as good a time as any to get back in the habit.  This is a simple, light stir fry.  Slightly sweet, but with a little bit of heat.  Serve with rice and extra veggies (or throw more veggies on the frying pan).  I scaled down the amount of pork, but left the amount of sauce and bell pepper the same.  If you aren't doing a side vegetable, I would increase the bell pepper.

Kay's Pork Strips from Kayotic Kitchen

Ingredients

6 pork cutlets, cut into thin strips
3 tbsp apricot jelly (she says you can use any jelly - apricot, orange, peach ... I ended up using jam)
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil (I think I forgot this ... oops!  It was a long day.)
1 tsp ginger (or a tbsp), freshly grated (I think I forgot this ... oops!  It was a long day.)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 chopped chili pepper (I upped this to a full chili pepper)
1/2 bell pepper, sliced
3 spring onions, chopped
salt
1 tbsp oil

1. In a bowl, whisk together jelly, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, chili pepper, and pinch of salt.
2. Cover pork in marinade and let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan.  Add pork strips.  Do not stir immediately.  Let the sauce caramelize.  After a few minutes when the pork starts to turn white, flip it.
4. Add bell pepper and onions.  Cook until done, but don't overcook the pork.