Shrimp and Rice-Noodle Stir-Fry

The other night I was craving shrimp, but I wasn't sure exactly how I wanted them prepared. I considered grilling them, but I knew I needed to eat something besides just grilled shrimp. So I thought I might fall back on one of my old favorites, Linguine with Shrimp Scampi, but I wanted something new, something different.

That'w when I remembered seeing some rice noodles in a friends cupboard recently and decided to start from there. Actually, I had never prepared rice noodles before, but I had eaten them at restaurants and figured they couldn't be too hard to fix, and it turned out I was correct. They start out dry and stiff  (pictured above) just like regular semolina noodles, but rather than boiling them, you can just soak them in water, and then cook them a few minutes longer in broth, in a stir-fry, or you can boil them.

Mongolian Beef

If you like the restaurant PF Chang and you like their Mongolian Beef, you will like this recipe. I combined a couple of copycat recipes, made some adaptations, and this is was I came up with. I will admit, there are quite a few steps to this recipe, but if you prep your meat and veggies, it really isn't very hard. To me the most difficult part is frying the meat in the oil without getting burned. In fact, I would suggest having a helper with the meat frying, one of you should be responsible for putting the meat into the pan and the other person should be in charge of flipping the meat and removing it to a reserve plate.


One, no two final notes. I added mushrooms to this dish, mostly I just thought it would add an extra flavor and a little more texture to the dish, but if you don't like mushrooms just leave them out. And two, I listed in the ingredients 1 or 2 bunches of green onions. I used one, and wished that I had about half as much more. So, I would suggest using about 1 1/2 bunches of green onions, but that will vary on your taste preference, as well as the size of bunch your local market sells.

Enjoy!

Mongolian Beef
Recipe and pictures by Caroline

2 lbs flank or skirt steak
¼ cup corn starch
2 tsp vegetable or peanut oil
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
½ cup low sodium soy sauce
½ cup water
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup vegetable or peanut oil
¼ to ½ cup mushroom pieces, depending on your preference
1 to 2 bunches green onions, green part only, cut in half

1. Trim all fat and silver skin from meat. Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Dust steak pieces lightly in cornstarch and set aside while preparing the sauce. Be sure to use a very light dusting of cornstarch, otherwise the texture will not be what you want.
2. In a small sauce pan heat oil over medium high heat. Add ginger and garlic. Add soy sauce and water to the ginger and garlic before it browns. Add brown sugar and whisk until dissolved. Bring sauce to a boil and simmer about 10 minutes or until slightly reduced and thickened. Remove from the heat and reserve.
3. In a large skillet or wok heat 1/2 cup oil over medium high heat. Working in batches, add the steak a few at a time to the hot oil. Cook about 2 minutes without touching the meat then flip each piece and cook 1 minute more. Remove meat and continue with next batch, leave meat just slightly rarer than you want it cooked. Once all meat is browned, pour off oil and wipe out skillet. 4. Put pan back over heat and add the mushrooms, let cook for about 1 minute until slightly softened. Add the meat and the sauce to the pan and simmer for about 1 minute. Add the green onions and continue to heat for about 2 more minutes.
5. Use tongs to remove meat and veggies to a serving dish, leaving excess sauce in the pan. Serve over rice.

Green Pepper Steak

This dish is a perfect weeknight meal. It's hearty, healthy, and delicious. And it's pretty easy--the hardest part is waiting for it to be ready to eat.


Green Pepper Steak
Recipe adapted from Dorothy Rich
Pictures by Kelly
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons water
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ginger root, finely chopped
1 pound chuck tender steak, cut into 1/4 inch strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 cup green onion, chopped
1 cup celery, diced
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/3 cup water
4 Roma tomatoes, halved and sliced lengthwise

1. In a bowl, mix soy sauce, 4 tablespoons water, garlic and ginger. Add steak and let stand 5 minutes.
2. Heat oil to medium high heat in a large skillet. Add steak (without sauce) and cook until all sides are browned. Pour sauce onto steak and cover. Let simmer on low 20 minutes.
   
3. Add vegetables to skillet. Cook, covered, 5-10 more minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
   
4. In a small bowl, mix corn starch and water until smooth. Add to sauce and stir until thickened.
5. Add tomatoes and cook, just until warm. Serve over rice.

Chicken Stir-Fry Wraps

We made these together the other night and they were tasty. This recipe calls for fresh ginger, and I insist, okay I recommend that you do not use anything but fresh ginger - it really adds a great flavor to this recipe. If you have a micro-planer use it to grate the ginger, if not, grate it another way or just chop it up as best you can. Also, Kelly and I decided while making this, that we wanted more veggies, so we added a green bell in addition to the red (as you can see from the pictures). And one last note, next time I make this recipe I will chop everything, rather than slicing for two reasons. One, the flavor of this is excellent, so the smaller the pieces the more they absorb; and two, this is messy to eat, and I think the wrapping part would go more smoothly if everything was chopped into smaller pieces; those are my recommendations. I hope that you will like this as much as I did. Oh! Also, we served rice on the side (which I don't have pictured) to make it a bit more substantial.

Chicken Stir-Fry Wraps
Recipe from Everyday Foods: Great Food Fast
Pictures by Caroline
Serves 4

1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts; thinly sliced
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
¼ to ½ tsp red pepper flakes
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 ½ tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water
12 to 16 Boston lettuce leaves (about 2 heads)

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over high heat. Add half the chicken; cook, stirring constantly, until opaque throughout, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
2. Add the remaining tablespoon oil to the pan, along with the onion and bell pepper. Cook; stirring constantly, until the onion is tender and golden, about 4 minutes (reduce the heat if browning too quickly).
3. Reduce the heat to medium; add the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes to the pan; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds.
4. Stir in the soy sauce, vinegar, and cornstarch mixture; remove from the heat. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices; toss to coat. Serve in the lettuce cups.

Sweet n' Sour Pork

You've probably noticed that I, Caroline, love red bell peppers. They truly are one of my favorite vegetables. I put them in almost everything that I cook from eggs to salads to stir-fry's. I just think they are so delicious both cooked and raw. So naturally my sweet n' sour pork recipe is full of them. However, feel free to use a mixture of peppers in this recipe for a greater variety of flavors.

Sweet n' Sour Pork
Recipe and Photos by Caroline

2 boneless pork chops, diced into 1/2" chunks
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
3/4 cup chicken broth (I use bouillon cubes mixed with water)
1 1/2 red pepper, sliced (or a mix of peppers)
1/2 medium red onion
1 can pineapple chunks, drained (save the juice)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup pineapple syrup
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1. Heat oil in skillet; add pork and cook until just browned on each side. Add the chicken broth, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes.
2. In the meantime, combine the sugar, pineapple syrup, vinegar, corn starch and soy sauce to make your sauce.
2. Add vegetables and pineapple over top of pork; add the sauce and mix everything together, coating all the meat and the vegetables. Cook for another 8-10 minutes, stirring often. Serve over rice.

*this recipe makes enough for 2 large helpings or 4 smaller ones