Recipe: Mongolian Beef with Vegetables

Mongolian Beef with Vegetables
rec.food.recipes/Mary Victoria Parker (2002)
Adapted from a recipe in Madame Wong's Long-Life Chinese Cookbook

1 lb sirloin or flank steak
Marinade
1 egg white
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
4 green onions, sliced on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
1 can baby corn*
1 garlic clove, minced

Sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons water
up to 1/4 teaspoon chili paste
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup oil for frying beef
Oil for stir-frying

Slice the beef across the grain into thin strips. Add the marinade ingredients and marinate for thirty minutes.

Add the 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and marinate for another thirty minutes.

While the beef is marinating, prepare the vegetables: wash the green onions and slice on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces. Peel and mince the garlic. Rinse the can of baby corn with warm running water.

Mix together the sauce ingredients and set aside.

When the beef has finished marinating, heat the wok and add 1 cup oil.

When oil is ready, carefully slide the beef into the wok, a few pieces at a time. Fry until the beef changes color. Remove the beef from the wok with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Clean out the wok with a paper towel, and add 2 tablespoons of oil for stir-frying. When the oil is ready, stir-fry the garlic, baby corn, and green onions.

Give the sauce a quick re-stir. Make a well in the middle of the wok, pushing the vegetables up to the side, and add the sauce and bring to a boil, stirring to thicken.

Add the beef and combine with the sauce and vegetables. Serve hot.

*For a more authentic dish, substitute bamboo shoots.