contest Begin! Chinese Throwdown

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Ozzy2001 said:
I missed that too lol.
 
Boss changed everything subtly between the TD preview post and the actual TD post ...
 
The preview delved into 'this is not about your luxury items' stuff, and the actual gets into 'you need to document your ingredient and steps' where former was ...
tctenten said:
When you posting your entry? Your teaser looked good.
 
He probably doesn't want me to be able to cut-and-paste the ingredients ... I would.

 
 
I don't think I changed anything. The makers of challenge #5 (soup/roll/rice) wanted the option of going authentic Chinese, the other 4 are American classics, but the preview is always a preview, the rules will always be in the actual TD.
 
tctenten said:
When you posting your entry? Your teaser looked good.
Thanks. Probably after work. My kids used up all of our data at home so I may have to do it at my office pc lol.
The Hot Pepper said:
I don't think I changed anything. The makers of challenge #5 (soup/roll/rice) wanted the option of going authentic Chinese, the other 4 are American classics, but the preview is always a preview, the rules will always be in the actual TD.
I just didn't pay attention. I just looked for the number and didn't read the words lol
 
ShowMeDaSauce said:
I like my lo mein non traditional. Its not normally spicy but i LOVE spicy pork lo mein with cabbage. Its awesome with a little fried black bean paste too.
 
I have been known to re-fry my leftovers with a little BBP and a fresh splash of mirin/shixiang - I'm in violent agreement with your proposal!
 
 
The Hot Pepper said:
I don't think I changed anything.
 
It's okay. This is why I re-read the rules this afternoon ...
 
:rofl:
Ozzy2001 said:
Lol unless you used the same process that I did you would probably have to cut some stuff out.
 
Content removal is a much faster process than content creation ...
 
I'm not cut-and-pasting anyways ... I just like to joke around about it ...
 
I'm far too narcissistic for that ... mine text will be YUGE. It's going to be the best text ...
Disclaimer: I did snag JHP's formatting once, though ... such nice bullet points and font sizes/boldness etc ...
 
LEFTOVER DAY! 
 
I had to put more heat in this dish...
 
solution : two fresh aji cito sliced on top... let me tell you its hot now
 
IMG_20161107_170232_zps7hchxff3.jpg
 
Mongolian Beef
 

 
Really glad I got picked for this entree.  I had never made it, but ordered it plenty of times.  I knew what I liked and didn't like about it so I aimed my cook accordingly.
 
For starters I don't like it swimming in sauce.  I also didn't want soggy meat.
 
So lets get all the ingredients out of the way.
 
8oz of Flank steak.  Sliced against the grain in 1/4" strips.
1 tsp oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbs cornstarch
2-3 Tbs of vegetable oil to fry the beef
1/2 tsp of minced ginger
4 dried chili de arbols
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 large yellow onion
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tbs of brown sugar
1 tbs of corn starch mixed with a tbs of water
2 scallions cut diagonally
about 1/4 cup of cornstarch to cover the meat
1 cup of jasmine rice
 

 
First thing to do is marinate the beef with the 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp soy sauce, and 1 tbs of cornstarch.  Vac sealed it up together after mixing it around.
 
After at least an hour remove the meat and coat it with cornstarch.

 
Then its time to fry it up.  Put the oil in your wok and heat it up to med high heat.  Place the pieces of meat in and sear them on both sides.

 
Be sure to cook it long enough to get a nice browned and crunchy exterior.  This will help avoid the soggy meat.

 
Once you have cooked the meat set it aside on a paper towel or something to dry off and pull the leftover grease away.  Its also easier to cook a little at a time rather than dump it all in the wok.
 
Remove any remaining grease/oil except about a tbs.  At this time add ginger and dried peppers.  Cook for about minute then add the garlic and the onions.  

 
Cook the onions until they start to soften up and then add the soy sauce and chicken stock.  Bring the mixture up to a simmer then add the brown sugar and stir it thoroughly.  After that, pour a little bit of the cornstarch/water mixture into the wok and stir it until you reach the consistency you want.  I used all of it and it ended up like this.

 
At this time dump your beef and scallions into the wok and stir to coat everything evenly.
 

 
Now its time to plate up with a side of rice, serve, and enjoy!

 

 
I absolutely loved this meal.  It was just how I envisioned it.  The crunch on the outside of the meat was great.  It added some texture to the meal instead of feeling like you just have a big wet mouthful of stuff.  This recipe is not overly sweet either.  I'm not a fan of the super sweet versions of this meal.  If you make this meal and don't like it you just don't like Mongolian beef.  This was far and away better than any I've had at a restaurant.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Grass Snake said:
Yup leftovers for me too. Maybe I'll have to cut that recipe in half next time. Looks different after a night in the fridgidaire....
 
Damn! That could be your 10th pic since you have 9. You didn't change anything it's the same meal and killer pic! "Even looks good cold" or some pic caption...
 
Family Favorite Chinese Meal (Pork Fried Rice and Steamed Dumplings)
 

 
When my family gets take out, there will always be some fried rice and steamed dumplings.  I wasn't sure if the kids would like the Mongolian beef so I made what I know they love.  There are lots of ingredients for this so I will post them as I go and describe the different parts.  
 

 
The pork I used was smoked a couple of days before.  A monster loin.

 
For the fried rice I made a char siu sauce and cooked down the liquid until it was all stuck to the meat.

 
The char siu sauce is a 1/3 cup Hoisin sauce, 1/4 cup Habanero honey, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3 tbs dry sherry, and 1 tsp of Chinese 5spice.
 
For the rice I cooked 2 cups and let it sit and cool off before I use it.  I like to make sure it is totally dry and sticky.
 
I start by pouring about 1/4 cup of soy sauce 2 tbs of fish sauce, 2 tsp of minced ginger, 1 tbs of minced garlic, 3 tbs of stir fry oil, and a few splashes of hot oil in the wok and warming it up to a simmer.  Then I toss in one whole diced yellow onion and let that soften.  After that I put one carrot sliced into wok.  After the carrots soften up a little bit I crack an egg on both sides everything in the middle and wait for them to cook and scramble them up.

 
Then I dumped about 1/4 cup of frozen peas into the wok and stirred everything up real good and let it cook for about 3 minutes.  
 
Now its time to dump the rice in a little at a time and stir it up.  At this point you just need to add soy sauce and fish sauce until you get the desired taste you want.  The rice is going to soak everything up pretty quick.  I would say I probably added another 1/4 cup of soy sauce and a tbs or 2 of fish sauce.  Once you get the rice tasting the way you want dump in the pork and stir it up.  You want to add the pork at the end because you want to be able to taste the flavor of the char siu sauce as you get bites of it.  If you throw it in too early it will all be wiped off by the rice.  
 
Now its time to serve it up!  Don't forget the pepper flakes :) Yum

 
Now the dumplings
1 lb minced smoked pork loin
1 cup of finely chopped cabbage
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1.5 tbs of soy sauce
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs cornstarch for dusting
2 tsp minced ginger
1.5 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 egg white
 
Mix all your ingredients together thoroughly and assemble into wrappers.  I just put about a tbs or so of the mixture into the wrapper then folded the wrapper and squeezed the edges to the top and pinched them off.  It helps to have a little bowl of water next to you to dip your fingers in to help seal the top.  Then also have more corn starch on your surface so the wrappers don't stick.

 
After you have them all assembled its time to steam them up.

 
Be sure to take some of the extra leaves from the cabbage and lay them down in the steamer to set the dumplings on so they won't stick.

 
Once they are done I served them with a soy sauce mixture.  
1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 1/4 cup chopped scallions, 1 tbs sesame oil, and 1 tsp of minced ginger.
 
So good with the sauce

 
The family was thrilled with this meal.  The five of us almost ate all of the dumplings.  There was a little bit of rice leftover for later.  The rice is super easy to make and we actually make it quite often.  The dumplings are pretty simple too.  Its just a bit tedious to make them all up.  But they are definitely worth the effort.  There were one of my favorite recipes I've tried so far.
 
 
 
 
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