Chinese Fried Rice

4 cups cold leftover white rice
4 eggs
chopped yellow onion
sliced scallion (whites & greens separated)
ham
peas
diced celery
diced carrots
salt & pepper
sesame oil
vegetable oil
oyster sauce (about 2 TBS)
rice wine (about 2 TBS)

saute yellow onions and white parts of the green onion (season with a tad bit of salt and pepper), add in celery then carrots then peas then ham. Remove vegetables to bowl. Add a bit more oil then scramble eggs (season with salt & pepper) until just moist. While scrambling, keep eggs in fairly large sized chunks. Remove eggs and add to vegetables. Add vegetable and sesame oil to pan then cold rice. Stir to coat all the rice grains with the oil then let sit to fry the rice. Meanwhile, add some oyster sauce and rice wine together. When rice is crispish add the oyster sauce/rice wine mixture. Continue cooking until rice absorbs almost all the liquid and dries out a bit. Add in the green parts of the green onion, stir then add in the vegetables, stir and cook till hot.

Restaurant Style Beef and Broccoli

Rated:
Submitted By: Dianne
Photo By: DonnieDarko
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour
Servings: 4
"This is my go-to recipe when I want Chinese food without having to go out. Very easy and delicious. Substituting chicken for the beef works great too. Serve over rice."
INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup oyster sauce
2 teaspoons Asian (toasted) sesame oil
1/3 cup sherry
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3/4 pound beef round steak, cut into 1/8
-inch thick strips
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more if
needed
1 thin slice of fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
1 pound broccoli, cut into florets
DIRECTIONS:
1. Whisk together the oyster sauce, sesame oil, sherry, soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Place the steak pieces into a shallow bowl, pour the oyster sauce mixture over the meat, stir to coat well, and marinate for at least 30 minutes in refrigerator.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, and stir in the ginger and garlic. Let them sizzle in the hot oil for about 1 minute to flavor the oil, then remove and discard. Stir in the broccoli, and toss and stir in the hot oil until bright green and almost tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the broccoli from the wok, and set aside.
3. Pour a little more oil into the wok, if needed, and stir and toss the beef with the marinade until the sauce forms a glaze on the beef, and the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Return the cooked broccoli to the wok, and stir until the meat and broccoli are heated through, about 3 minutes.

From All Recipes

Notes: Added the garlic & ginger to the marinade. Also added some garlic chili paste to the marinade. Sauteed the broccoli then steamed with a bit of rice wine. Sauteed onions and bamboo shoots after the broccoli was done. When the meat was done cooking, added the rest of the marinade to the wok and cooked until bubbly then added some chicken broth.

Thai Red Curry Mac 'n' Cheese

Thai Red Curry Mac 'n' Cheese
Recipe courtesy Aarti Sequeira

Prep Time:20 min
Inactive Prep Time: --
Cook Time:15 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
Mac 'n' Cheese:

Kosher salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (4-ounce) jar Thai red curry paste
2 cups whole milk
2 cups cream (alternatively, use 5 cups whole milk instead of both milk and cream)
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated
8 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated

Crumb Topping:

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
For the mac 'n' cheese: Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Salt generously, and then add the pasta and cook to box instructions, usually 6 to 7 minutes. Drain.

In another large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and continue whisking until it deepens in color and releases a light toasted aroma, about 1 minute.

Whisk in the Thai red curry paste, and when fully combined, pour in the milk and cream (or all milk, if using). Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer until the mixture thickens, whisking occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Off heat, whisk in the cheeses and stir until melted. Add the pasta and toss to combine.

Turn your broiler on.

For the crumb topping: Toss the panko with the melted butter and season with salt and pepper.

To assemble: Pour the mac 'n' cheese into a broiler-safe casserole dish, sprinkle with the bread crumb mixture, and broil until browned, about 1 minute.

Notes from cooking:
A bit pasty for my taste. In looking at other recipes I think it would be nicer to try the ones that are baked with milk and not a flour based cheese sauce. The curry was a good idea but too overpowering. I used authentic curry paste and it was too strong - overpowered the cheese flavor. Need to cut the curry by at least a 1/4. If using the grocery store variety it might not be too bad. The recipe would have been improved by baking in the oven for a while before broiling the top crumbs on top. Reviews on the website suggested using less cream, some used half and half. This might improve it as well. Too much cheese sauce in relation to the pasta. A pound and a half of pasta might have been a bit better.