Have you ever tried to make your own version of Chinese food?
I have. And it’s never pretty.
But this Mongolian Beef recipe from Just Another Day in Paradise? Delicious. Seriously. And quick and simple enough for a week night. Definitely cheaper than take-out.
Here’s my version.
Word on the street is that it’s a spittin’ image of the Mongolian Beef at PF Changs. I wouldn’t know, because we don’t have one near me. But, I trust it. Delish.
Now, if only I could master the crab rangoon.
Do you have any Chinese-type recipes to make at home?
We have a green bean stirfry we make about once a week that we LOVE! The two secret ingredients, however, are things I go to an Asian grocery market for. Although I’ve heard you can get one at Target. We use Vegetarian Hoisen sauce (They may have the non-veggie version at Target) and Mirin which is Japanese cooking wine. I can get you the full receipe if you want it and when I’m in front of the cookbook.
I spent 6 months in China, so I’m pretty picky about my Chinese food and rice. And I think this recipe is good!
I grew up in your neck of the woods (across the river in Bettendorf). To this day, Hy-Vee Chinese is some of the best take out ever. I’m jealous that you’re in proximity to their crab rangoons!
I make a mean “stir-fry”. I just dump veggies, rice, and meat in skillet and dump some Asian sauce on it. Simple and fairly quick.
That Mongolian Beef looks delish. Will definately have to try it out!
Yours DOES look delish. When you master crab rangoon send some my way, k?
Thanks! xoxo
You know, I’ve never had crab rangoon, but I thought this recipe looked tasty and super easy: http://joelens.blogspot.com/2007/07/chinese-flair-farewell.html
I was going to make it Friday night, but then saw the “refrigerate overnight” part, and the crab got used to make crab cakes instead. 🙂
Yum. John often wants to make it at home (rather than order out) but it isn’t the same. However the Saki sauce from W-S helps. I love crab rangoons!! They are my favorite thing on the menu. I have a decent “healthy” recipe. I should post it.
I am not a fan of PF Changs. I think it’s way overpriced and you can get much better stuff from your mom and pop chinese place in your neighborhood. Yeah the food’s tasty but the best part about ordering out from your local Chinese place is that they give you enough to feed an army. So you get 2 or 3 meals out of one night’s dinner, ya know?
But if you’re into dumplings, I posted an Asian meatball recipe the other day that was bangin. Its a Real Simple recipe and I’ll definitely be making it again.
Oh and yay mongolian beef! I’ve never had it so I’m excited to try this, Kim tested & Kim approved.
Our attempt at chinese food usually results in a trip to a chinese restaurant for takeout! 🙂
Oh my gawsh! That looks delicious, Kim!!! I’ve never tried to fake Chinese, but I do try to fake Thai. My dad spent a year in Thailand in the AF and used to cook us a dish called “CowPot” when I was growing up. It was rice mixed with veggies, eggs, chicken, and spices. When I was pg with Natalie I started craving it all of a sudden after so many years. I could have cried b/c I had no way of replicating the spices (my dad passed away when I was in high school). So we came up with our own version. It’s not the same, but it is yummy–a sort of stir fry hybrid. 🙂
PS. We have PF Changs. Think I can convince my husband that going out to eat is “research” to see if Kim’s recipe is like the “real” one 😉
PS. We have PF Changs. Think I can convince my husband that going out to eat is “research” to see if Kim’s recipe is like the “real” one 😉
Kim, I read your blog every day over on my Google Reader but I don’t come over and say hello nearly enough. For example, I love your new header! How long have you had it, because it’s been (embarrassingly) that long since I’ve stopped by.
Just wanted to say this looks delish and I marked it for myself to try sometime soon.
🙂
PF Changs actually has their Mongolian beef recipe on their website. 🙂 You can try both and compare! looks yummy!
nom nom
Looking briefly at the recipe, it seems like this is actually tastier than ‘authentic’ mongolian beef, b/c the tenderness is due to the cut of meat and not some minimum wage earner in the back room pounding at it with a cleaver and copious amounts of beef tenderizer. Which is probably what happens in a not-chain american-chinese restaurant.
That said, I’d probably reduce the amount of sugar and let the meat sit in the cornstarch-dressing mixture for an hour to overnight.
My fave resource for chinese american cooking is:
http://steamykitchen.com/category/region/asian-recipes/chinese-recipes …. as far as I can figure, its “home cooking” for those of us with parents who came over in the 70s. nom nom
That looks REALLY good. I’ve never had good luck with Chinese at home….but I may give this a try. The hubster loves Mongolian Beef.
We make “fake” Chinese food all the time with rooster sauce, but this looks about 10 times better. 🙂
I make tofu stir fry at least once per week – five spice, sesame seeds and corn starch make anything taste Chinese!
Looks yummy. We decided that it’s just cheaper and easier to order takeout when it comes to Chinese. :-)And, they make the rice FOR you! 🙂
I may be the world’s pickiest eater…I am just starting to enter the world of Chinese food…as in the buffet…where I can eat my weight in those tasty sugar covered donuts…definitely not brave enough to attempt something like this..nice work!