Moo's Shredded Beef with Hot Sauce

1 lb. flank steak
6-8 fresh water chestnuts
2 T tree ears fungi
2 tsp. fresh ginger, chopped
1 tsp. garlic clove, chopped
6 T olive oil

Marinade
2 T dark soy sauce
1 T sherry
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 T cornstarch

Seasoning Sauce
2 T dark soy sauce
1 T sherry
1 T sugar
1 T wine vinegar
2 T hot bean sauce
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 T sesame oil
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 T scallions, shredded

In a bowl, mix marinade ingredients: soy sauce, sherry, sugar and cornstarch. Cut flank steak against the grain in 2" long thin strips and marinate for about 20 minutes. Set aside. Soak tree ears in hot water for about 20 minutes. Then cut into small pieces. Peel water chestnuts and slice. Mix all seasoning sauce ingredients: soy sauce, sherry, sugar, vinegar, hot bean sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil, pepper and scallions.

Heat 4 T olive oil in wok. Stir fry shredded beef for 2 minutes. Remove and set aside. Heat another 2 T oil in the same wok. Stir fry chopped ginger and garlic then add tree ears and water chestnuts. Stir a few times, mix in the beef, stirring constantly. Finally pour in the seasoning sauce (give it a stir before pour because the cornstarch will settle to the bottom). Mix well and serve hot.

Moo's Cream of Ginger-Lemongrass Soup

I love this soup. It is light and flavorful. It's also got a little zip to it. Thank the chili bean paste for giving this soup that little something extra. Moo loved lemongrass and she liked to mix delicate flavors with a little spice. Dare it say it...chili bean paste was her "Bam!"

2 T olive oil
1 T fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 T lemongrass, finely chopped
2 T shallots, finely chopped
1/2 cup yellow onions, finely chopped
2 cups fresh corn
4 cups chicken stock (for vegan/vegetarian version use vegetable broth)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup half and half (vegan replace with a soy creamer)
2 tsp. chili bean paste
Coriander leaves for garnish

Heat olive oil in pot, add ginger, lemongrass, shallots and onions. Cook on low heat for 2 minutes. Add corn and cook for another minute. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Cook on low heat for about 5 minutes, add salt and pepper, then sugar and half and half. Remove pot from heat and cool to room temperature. When ready to serve, stir to blend ingredients and return pot to heat. Ladle into soup bowls add a dot of chili bean paste to top and swirl it with a knife to create a pleasing pattern. Garnish with coriander.

Moo's Winter Melon and Chicken Soup

This is a very light, savory Chinese soup. Moo made this often during the winter (after all it's made with winter melon). If you don't know, a winter melon looks a little like a watermelon from the outside. The flesh is a light green and cannot be eaten raw. I like to call this Chinese penicillin. It's light like chicken noodle with the winter melon providing an interesting texture. This is a palate pleaser.

6 cups chicken stock
1 lb. winter melon, cut into bite-size chunks
6 fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 medium size knob of fresh ginger, minced
1 chicken breast, raw
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp. sherry
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. soy sauce, low sodium is best
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. olive oil

Cut flesh away from rind of winter melon. Cut flesh into chunks. Remove stems from mushrooms and slice caps. Bone raw chicken breast and cut into bite-size pieces. Mix chicken, garlic, sherry, sugar and 1/2 tsp. of the soy sauce. Let stand for 15 minutes. Mix salt, 1 1/2 tsp. of soy sauce, olive oil. Set aside. Heat stock to boiling, add melon, mushrooms and ginger and simmer for 20 minutes. Add chicken marinade mixture. Stir well. Add salt/soy/oil mixture. Cook until the chicken is tender.

Cracked Crab with Curry and Ginger Sauce

King Crab legs or Dungeness Crab, pick meat from shells
2 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 slices fresh ginger
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/4 green pepper, finely chopped
2 heaping tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
3 T sherry
2/3 cup chicken broth
1 T cornstarch
2 T water

Place wok over high heat, add oil. When oil is very hot, add garlic, ginger, scallion, green pepper. Stir fry for 30 seconds. Add crab meat and stir fry for 1 minute. Combine curry powder, salt, sugar and sherry. Pour the curry mixture over crab. Stir fry for 30 seconds more. Add chicken broth. Cook 5 minutes or less. Combine cornstarch and water in small dish. Stir into stir fry dish to help thicken slightly. Stir until smooth and thickened. Serve immediately.

Moo's Hot Black Bean Dipping Sauce

Moo sent this recipe with the following note: This is excellent. And it keeps in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

1 pint olive oil
1/2 cup dried red chili flakes
2/3 cup fermented black beans
2/3 cup Tientsin preserved Chinese vegetables
1/4 cup Mainland preserved cabbage
1 T fresh garlic, minced
1 T fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup scallions, minced
1 T sherry
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup cilantro, minced

Heat olive oil in your wok. One at a time and in the order listed, add all the ingredients except the cilantro. Mix thoroughly between ingredients. Take care not to let ingredients boil over. Once you are satisfied that ingredients are well infused, remove from head. Add cilantro. Cool and store in refrigerator.

Moo's Szechwan Lobster

It's lobster with a Szechwan flavor...of course it's delicious. This is Moo's version and she declared it a palate pleaser. I love boiled lobster right from the pot, but I have to say this is a very good dish. And easy to make.

1 two-pound live lobster
1 t. soy sauce
1 1/2 t. white vinegar
12 drops chili oil
1/2 t. minced garlic
1/4 t. salt
3 t. sherry
12 water chestnuts, cut in 1/2" pieces
3 T cloud ear fungi, soaked about 30 minutes to soften
20 peapods
1/4 cup scallions, minced
1/4 cup Olive Oil for stir frying

Select a pot large enough for boiling the lobster. Add water and salt water enough to simulate sea water. Bring to a boil, add lobster and cook for just 10 minutes. The lobster will not be completely cooked but enough so that removing meat from shell is easy. Allow lobster to cool enough that you can handle it. Remove all meat from the shell and cut into 1 1/2" pieces.

Wash and pull strings from peapods. In pot of boiling water, blanch peapods for just 15 seconds--until bright green. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix sauce ingredients together: soy sauce, vinegar, chili oil, garlic, salt and sherry. Heat oil in wok on high. Add lobster and water chestnuts. Stir fry about 3 minutes. Add cloud ears and scallions for about 30 seconds. Add sauce and cook another 15 seconds. Finally add peapods and cook another 15 seconds. If you like a thicker sauce, you can prepare a teaspoon of cornstarch with a little water and add to the dish. This will thicken dish slightly.

Imperial Moo Chicken Salad

This is a palate pleasing salad with an Asian flavor.

2 large chicken breasts, boned
1/3 cup sherry
1/4 cup soy sauce
6 thin slices ginger

Olive oil for frying

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
6 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted

2-3 ounces of Chinese rice sticks or bean thread

Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1 T plus 1 t. soy sauce
3 t. sesame oil
2 t. dry mustard
2 t. sugar
1 t. fresh ginger, minced
1/2 t. hot chili oil

Combine sherry, soy sauce and ginger slices to create marinade. Marinate chicken breasts for several hours (overnight, if possible). Turn chicken breasts over a couple times. When ready to cook, drain chicken breasts, pat dry and lightly salt. Then coat with cornstarch. Refrigerate for an hour to allow cornstarch to set.

Heat olive oil in skillet and deep fry chicken breasts for about 5 minutes per side or until golden and crisp and cooked through. Drain chicken on paper towel then slice into bite-sized pieces. Place in a large bowl. Add lettuce, scallions, almonds, sesame seeds.

Heat olive oil in skillet or wok. Deep fry rice sticks or bean threads. They will puff up very quickly. Drain, salt lightly and add to salad. Mix dressing ingredients, add to salad, toss and serve.

Moo's Chinese Noodle Custard

This is a good first course or side dish for any Asian dinner. It's light and not what most people expect when ordering Chinese. I prefer light (low sodium) soy sauce and organic chicken broth. If you want to avoid the chicken broth, try vegetable broth.

1 pkg fine noodles
4 eggs, whisked
1/2 t. salt
2 t. soy sauce
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk

Cook noodles until tender. Rinse and drain. Set oven to 325 degrees. Pour noodles into a 2 quart casserole. Whisk eggs well and add other ingredients. Pour over noodles and fold in. Set casserole into larger pan with some water and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Spicy Szechwan Zucchini

Eat your veggies! Tired of the same old zucchini in a casserole or steamed zucchini? Here's a way to cook zucchini that spice up your life...or at least your vegetables. It's a palate pleaser in my book. Sometimes I substitute eggplant.

1 pound of zucchini
½ T fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 t garlic, chopped
1 T hot bean sauce
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt
½ cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
½ T wine vinegar
½ T sesame oil
1 T scallions, chopped
5 T olive oil

Wash zucchini but don't peel. Cut off tops and chop into bite-size pieces. Heat oil in wok to a medium heat. Stir fry zucchini until just soft. Scoop out onto paper towel and squeeze out excess oil by pressing with spatula. Put aside. In same oil, stir fry garlic, ginger and hot bean sauce for a few seconds, then add soy sauce, sugar, salt and broth. Bring to a boil, and add zucchini. Cook about a minute, until most of the sauce is absorbed into the vegetables. Add vinegar and sesame oil and continue to stir fry. Mix in chopped scallion and serve.

Chinese Noodle Salad w/Spicy Peanut Sauce

I love this salad. In my book, it's a real palate pleaser. Moo knew I liked anything with Asian peanut sauce so she came up with this one for me. Of course, Thai cooking uses a lot of peanut sauce...Chinese less, which makes this a bit more unusual. If you're an Asian peanut sauce fan, you have to try this.

Salad
1 package (8 oz) fine egg noodles
2 t. vegetable oil
1 bunch broccoli (c. 1 ½ lb) or 2 packages (10 oz each) of frozen broccoli spears, thawed
2 c. (½ lb) roast pork, cut into thin strips
4 c. (8 oz) fresh bean sprouts
2 c. shredded Chinese cabbage (iceberg lettuce can do in a pinch)
1 c. slivered radishes

Sauce
¼ c. creamy peanut butter
¼ c. warm water
¼ c. chopped green onions
2 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ c. soy sauce
¼ c. peanut oil (vegetable oil okay)
2 T wine vinegar
4 T sugar
1 t. salt
½ t. cayenne pepper

Cook egg noodles. Drain, rinse, drain again. Place in bowl, toss with 2 t. oil. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours. Trim enough stalk from broccoli so you have about 2” of flowerettes and stalk remaining. In saucepan heat, 1 quart of water to boiling. Add broccoli and return to boil. Cook 3 minutes, drain and cool under cold water. Cover and refrigerate. (NOTE: If using frozen broccoli, thaw, drain, don’t cook.) Prepare remaining salad ingredients and wrap each separately for the moment.

Now for the sauce. In a small bowl, combine peanut butter and water until smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Stir until well mixed. Pour in a small bowl and store at room temperature.

To serve, add broccoli, roast pork, sprouts, Chinese cabbage and radishes to noodles. Add sauce and toss lightly.

Chinese Steamed Egg Custard

This is a traditional Asian dish. It's warm and tasty, and simple to make. Moo always called this Asian comfort food. Great for a cold, snowy night. This Asian palate pleaser is not something you'll make often, but it does have it's place in your Asian repertoire of recipes.

3 eggs
1 ½ cups chicken broth
½ t. salt
1 t. soy sauce
Thin Chinese noodles

Beat eggs with chicken broth, salt and soy sauce. Pour into ramekins and add cooked thin noodles, shredded chicken, clams, crab, ham or anything you wish. Steam for 10 minutes. Serve with ginger or sauce on top.

Sauce
2/3 cup chicken broth
½ cup cooked ham, chopped
4 slices fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 T coriander leaves, chopped
2 t. cornstarch
¼ cup water

Mix ham, ginger and coriander with stock and bring to a boil. Mix cornstarch and water and add to sauce for thickening.