Living in the country ‘take-out’ food is never really a spontaneous option! Years ago when we were in town and close to dinnertime we would often pick something up to take home for supper. We don’t do that so much anymore. Now we eat much more healthy. That in itself rules out a great deal of ‘take-out’ food. We love good Chinese food. Chinese take out, at least around here, is very, very high in sodium and usually high in MSG so we pass more often than not and make our own Chinese at home. The recipe for Beef Lo Mein is a bit fussy, as my husband once called it. It is worth the effort! Made with eye of beef round it is a healthier beef option. The trick is in the tenderizing marinade. The recipe below serves 4 and is not heavy on the beef – just enough to flavor the vegetables and give everyone a a few bites!
Beef
2 – 4 ounce eye of beef round. Slice the rounds horizontally and then cut each round into ½ slices. Place in marinade.
Marinade:
1 tablespoon dried, minced onion
1 tablespoon lite soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh, grated ginger
1 medium clove garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon dry, ground mustard
1 teaspoon 5-spice powder
juice on one small lime
½ teaspoon Mongolian fire oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
Place all marinade ingredients in plastic, zipper bag with beef strips. Marinade in refrigerator a minimum of 2 hours, turning bag a few times. When ready to place in wok remove meet and discard liquid marinade.
Vegetables – slice in strips
2 roasted Serrano peppers
1 medium onion
1 cup zucchini
2 medium carrots
4 ounces mushrooms
½ cup small broccoli florets
1 clove garlic, finely diced
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
In large sauté pan or wok, heat 1 tablespoon canola oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil until just below smoking point. Quickly, on high heat, cook beef until very crispy on both sides. Add more canola oil if needed. Remove meat to platter when crisp on both sides. To pan add onion, ginger, garlic and cook 4 minutes. Add mushrooms, roasted pepper and carrots. Cook 5 minutes or until carrots just begin to soften. Add zucchini. Add ¼ cup fat-free beef stock.
Sauce
In pint jar mix together:
½ cup beef stock
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 C lite soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon course ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
Noodles
1 package Kyoto Noodles – or other favorite noodles
Heat 5 quarts salted water to full boil. Add noodles and cook 3 minutes. Remove to towel to soak up any extra moisture. Noodles need to be cooked, but dry when added to this dish.
To prepared vegetables add sauce. Reduce heat to low. Quickly stir in beef strips and noodles and cook just long enough to warm through. Enjoy!
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