Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

For Kate-Bob:

BEEF & BROCCOLI
serves 4

4 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar, packed
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/8 tsp. sesame oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped or 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ginger
dash crushed red pepper
1 lb. thinly sliced beef
1 cup broccoli florets (I actually don't measure—I probably add more veggies than the recipe says)
1 large carrot, peeled and diagonally sliced
1/3 cup sliced water chestnuts
about 15 sugar-snap peas
4 green onions, diagonally sliced
1-2 tsp. cooking oil

1.  In a medium bowl, mix water, oyster sauce, cornstarchm, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper.
2.  Slice the beef into 1/4-inch by 2-inch strips.
3.  Add the beef to the soy sauce mixture and stir well. Let it marinate while you prepare the vegetables.
4.  Heat oil in a medium frying pan or wok.
5.  Remove beef from suace and add it to the pan; stir to brown on all sides.
6.  Add broccoli, carrots and peas; stir, then cover and let simmer about 2 minutes.
7.  Add remaining sauce (if any), water chestnuts and green onions; cook until hot.
8.  Serve with hot rice.

Salmon-Noodle Soup

Sounds weird, huh? But it's pretty darn good and way easy to make. It's good with shrimp too—I mean, instead of the salmon; or I suppose you could use chicken. But I really like the salmon in it. Yum!

SALMON-NOODLE SOUP

6 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. Oriental-flavor Ramen noodles
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1 celery rib, thinly sliced

10 oz. cooked salmon, broken into small pieces [you can use canned salmon, if you'd like]

Oor 3/4 lb. medium-size raw green shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups diagonally-sliced carrots

2 cups snow peas or sugar-snap peas

4 green onions, sliced [use the green and white parts]

1 tsp. peeled and grated fresh ginger

1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

soy sauce (optional)

Make sure all your veggies are peeled, chopped, sliced, and grated ahead of time—this cooks fast!

Bring water and salt to boil in a medium-large-ish size pot.
Add the noodles, but NOT the seasoning packet. Also add the broccoli and celery at this time and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the salmon or shrimp (or some of both, if you want). And add the carrots, peas, green onions, ginger, garlic clove, sesame oil, and now the seasoning packet, too. Cook for 1 minute.
Stir in a dash or two of soy sauce, if desired.
Serve immediately.

Yum-yum!

Sesame Noodles

These noodles make a nice side-dish for your Chinese dinner. They also make a great lunch for the kids! (But they eat a lot--I have to triple-triple the recipe for my family!) Don't limit yourself to the veggies listed; try broccoli, or celery or bell peppers--whatever you like!

SESAME NOODLES

2 pkg. Ramen noodles, your favorite flavor
3 - 3 1/2 cups water
1 large handful fresh bean sprouts (don't use canned, they're yucky!)
1 small carrot, grated
vegetable oil
sesame oil
soy sauce
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Place Ramen noodles in a medium saucepan; sprinkle the contents of the seasoning packets over the noodles. Cover the noodles with water and bring to a boil. Let cook for 1-2 minutes, then turn off the heat and let them sit for about 2 minutes (they should be cooked, but not super-soft). Drain the noodles, reserving about 1/4 cup broth.

In a large frying-pan or wok, heat some vegetable oil (about 1 Tbsp.). Add bean sprouts and carrots (and any other veggies you like) to oil and stir-fry. Add about 1 Tbsp. sesame oil to veggies, then add drained Ramen noodles. Drizzle a little sesame oil over the noodles; dash with soy sauce to taste, and stir-fry until noodles and veggies are coated evenly. Add a little more sesame oil as necessary to keep the noodles from sticking together. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions if desired.

Yummy, easy and inexpensive!