CHINESE!!

Tonight, I completely impressed myself. Usually you attempt to make chinese at home and it's nothing close to what you get out, but what I made tonight was equally as good as anything at a chinese restaurant! With the help of the Whats Cooking ladies, I got two incredible recipes, one for Mongolian Beef and one for Kung Pao Chicken (George likes it spicy!!). I would recommend these to anyone, its a lot healthier than eating out, totally fulfilled my craving and was easy. I made two at once so if I can do it, so can anyone. I adapted the Mongolian Beef from here at Cook Like A Champion and the Kung Pao Chicken from here at Proceed with Caution.

Kung Pao Chicken

For the marinade:

2 teaspoons soy sauce (I used light)

2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1 teaspoon sesame oil (I used olive oil)

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

For the sauce:

4 tablespoons dark soy sauce (I used light, the same as the marinade)

2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1.5 teaspoons sugar

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

2 carrots, sliced

1 rib celery (I omitted and added sugar snap peas)

1 small can sliced water chestnuts (I omitted)

2 cloves garlic (I used 1 tbsp of the preminced garlic)

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

2 green onions (I used more because I like onions!)

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

6 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, (I used olive oil and didn’t measure it out, I just put as little as I need to coat the pan)

1/2 cup peanuts or cashews (I omitted)

a few drops sesame oil, optional (I omitted)

Directions:
Add chicken and marinade ingredients to a bowl or ziplock bag, adding the cornstarch last, and marinate for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice carrots and any other veggies you want to put in. Chop the green onions into 1/2 inch pieces, and grate the garlic and ginger(or just use the pre-grated like I did).

Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a large saucepan or wok over medium high to high heat. Add olive oil and allow to get hot. Add carrots and veggies and toss occasionally until cooked. Remove vegetables from pan.Add olive oil to pan and allow to get hot. Add marinated chicken and cook until nearly done. Remove chicken from the pan.

Add olive oil to pan and allow to get hot. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add red pepper flakes and ginger and cook for a few seconds.

Add the sauce to the pan and bring to a boil. Return the chicken and vegetables to the pan, toss to coat in the sauce. Stir in the peanuts and green onion, heat through. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil, if using. Serve with rice.

Mongolian Beef
1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced crosswise (I cut into small pieces and used 1.5 pounds)

1/4 cup of cornstarch (I didnt measure, just put a small amount in the bowl)
3 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided (I didnt measure, I just went by how much the pan needed)

1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup of low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar (measured, not packed)
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 large green onion, sliced thinly (I got a bundle and used half for each recipe)

I added snow peas and carrots also

Directions:

Pat steak slices dry and add to a bowl with corn starch
Shake off excess corn starch
Heat oil in a large wok or non-stick pan over medium-high heat

Add the garlic and ginger, stir until fragrant
Add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes

Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl
Turn the heat to high and add oil to the wok

Add the beef, carrots and pea pods and cook until browned on all sides and veggies are tender
Pour the sauce back into the wok and cook until the sauce reaches desired consistency (I let it sit for a while on low heat until it got thick)

Add the green onions (a pinch reserved for garnish), stir, and remove from heat.
Plate, top with remaining onions, and serve