Recipe - Ginger-Fried Beef

One fourth pound Sirloin steak, shredded
1 md Onion, quartered and cut
into strips
1 Thumbsize piece fresh
ginger, peeled and
Shredded (see note)
1 Clove garlic, minced
Marinade (in jar)
2 teaspoon Light soy sauce
2 teaspoon Vegetable sauce
1 teaspoon Dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon Dry sherry or rice wine
One half teaspoon Sugar
One half teaspoon Sesame oil
One fourth teaspoon Salt
One fourth teaspoon Pepper
One fourth teaspoon Baking powder
2 teaspoon Cornstarch
1 tablespoon Water

NOTES: Thanks to reader Alice Ho, here's a ginger beef recipe that's stir
fried not deep fried. If you partially freeze the beef, it can be cut into
thin shreds making it quick work in a wok or wide skillet. Marinating the
meat and cooking it, still partially frozen, keeps more of the meat juices
in the meat and out of the sauce. For dessert, a tropical mixture of
lichees, mandarins and grapes would be refreshing. If you thought soy sauce
was soy sauce, Alice Ho offers these tips
: "Black and light soy sauces are distinguishable. If you shake the light
sauce, the bottle is transparent. This is easier than deciphering the
chinese characters on the bottles." Ho says the baking powder in this
recipe acts as a meat tenderizer.

DIRECTIONS: Cut beef into shreds, while partially frozen. Use a sharp
cleaver or chef's knife. Prepare onion, pepper, ginger and garlic; set
aside.

Pour marinade ingredients (mixed together) over beef and let stand for 30
minutes (longer if you wish).

Heat wok or wide skillet; add 2 Tb vegetable oil. Fry onion and pepper in
hot oil, stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste, and cook for a
minute. Vegetables should be crisp and glistening. Remove from pan.

Add another 2 Tb oil to the pan; heat and add garlic and ginger.

Add beef, stirring quickly to separate strips that cling together.

Add One fourth cup hot water; stir and cook for about a minute. Return cooked
vegetables to wok and blend quickly.

Season to taste, as you wish, or add 1 Tb oyster sauce to enhance the
flavor. Serve over hot steaming rice. Serves 2. Offer a second stirfry
dish to round out the meal.

Calgary Herald, food section, 82.01.29

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini