Tag: East Asian
Sichuan Crispy Beef
Sichuan Crispy Beef
What makes this stir fried beef so tasty is the Lao Gan Ma fried chili crisp. This chili oil contains fried shallots, garlic, fried soy beans, fried peanuts, chili flakes, and fermented black beans. The beef is stir fried, then tossed in this chili crisp oil with green onions. It looks a lot spicier than it really is. The flavor is bursting with aromatics and umami, making this a quick and easy go to any night of the week.
Ingredients
- 1 lb flank or skirt steak thinly sliced on a bias
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
Stir Fry
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup fried chili crisp Lao Gan Ma brand
- 4 green onions cut into 2” pieces
Garnish
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Marinate the beef with salt, vegetable oil, and cornstarch for 15 minutes.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan or wok over high heat. Add in the beef in a single layer.
- Cook for 90 seconds a side. Remove from the pan.
- Add the chili crisp oil and green onions into the pan. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Toss the beef back into the pan, coating in the chili crisp oil. Turn off the heat.
Chicken with Garlic Chives
Chicken with Garlic Chives
Garlic chives are an ingredient that isn’t as well known to Americans as it should be. They taste like a firm garlicky green onion. You can find them at just about every Asian market for relatively little money. Garlic chives are used in many recipes like steamed dumplings, and are great in a stir fry. For this recipe, I sautéed some chicken with garlic chives with a basic light sauce. You can use any protein that you want if chicken isn’t your first choice. Serve the stir fry with steamed rice.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp sugar
Stir Fry
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp ginger julienned
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs thinly sliced
- 12 oz garlic chives
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Mix together the sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes until browned. Remove from the pan.
- Add in the garlic and ginger. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Toss in the garlic chives. Stir fry for 1 minute.
- Add the sauce and the chicken back into the sauté pan. Stir fry for 1 minute.
- Season with salt to taste.
Sweet and Sour Fish
Sweet and Sour Fish
If you want to impress people at a dinner party, I highly recommend serving sweet and sour fish. It is a very popular dish for Chinese New Years, festivals, and family gatherings. Traditionally served as a whole fish, this recipe will use fish fillets, since frying a whole fish is difficult in home kitchens. With that being said, it is nothing short of flavor and presentation. The fish fillets get cross hatch cuts slit into them. When breaded and fried, it has a “blossoming” look to the fillets. Then a simple sweet and sour sauce with bell peppers and onions is poured over the fish. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 lb fish fillets tilapia, swai, snapper, catfish, sea bass
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- vegetable oil for frying
Sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar vinegar
- 1 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp chili garlic sauce
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Stir Fry
- 3 garlic cloves sliced
- 1” ginger peeled and julienned
- 1/4 large green bell pepper sliced
- 1/4 large red bell pepper sliced
- 1/2 small white onion sliced
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Garnish
- toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Make cross hatch cuts 1/4” deep into the flesh of the fish fillets.
- Coat the fish fillets in cornstarch seasoned with salt and white pepper.
- Heat up 1” of cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Gently place the fish into the oil. Fry for 5 minutes a side until golden brown.
- Drain the grease on a rack. Place the fish on a serving plate.
- Mix all of the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
- Sauté the onions in a sauté pan over medium high heat for 3 minutes.
- Add in the garlic and ginger. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Pour in the sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil.
- As the sauce starts to thicken, add in the bell peppers. Cook for 1 more minute.
