Thursdays Are For Cooking

| May 21, 2020

 

I sent this off to AW1Ed. His response:  Looks good to me.

Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

This one comes from Betty Crocker’s kitchen, updated December 9, 2019.

Prep time: about 25 MIN

Total including cooking: 8 HR 55 MIN

Servings: 6

Here’s something that should make every home cook happy: There’s tons of flavor in less expensive cuts of meat. The trick is to treat those cheap cuts right, as is done in this recipe, where beef stew meat is browned in a skillet and left to finish off over low heat in a slow cooker. And with the processing plants being shut down, grab what you can find, wrap it and freeze it. I found a delightfully thick chuck roast because no one else wanted it. It gets the crockpot treatment this weekend.

Ingredients

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons gingerroot, peeled and finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 lb beef stew meat

1/3 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup Progresso (or other) beef flavored broth (from 32-oz carton)

¾ cup julienned carrots

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

¼ cup green onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed

Steps:

1 Spray 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.

2 In slow cooker, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger root and garlic.

3 In a large bowl, toss beef with flour to coat. Discard any excess flour.

4 In a 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the beef; cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned. Transfer to slow cooker. Repeat with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and half of beef.

5 Add broth to skillet; heat to boiling over medium-high heat, scraping up any brown bits at bottom of skillet. Add to slow cooker; stir to combine.

6 Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until beef is tender and sauce is thickened. Add carrots and vinegar to slow cooker; stir to combine. Cover; cook about 30 minutes or until carrots are tender.

7 Garnish with green onions and sesame seed. Serve with cooked rice, if desired.

Note:

  • The chemical reactions that happen during browning create flavor. Taking this step before adding the beef to the slow cooker adds deeply complex flavor to the finished dish.
  • Add the julienned carrots at the end of the cooking process to keep them from overcooking and getting mushy.

Mongolian beef, strangely enough, probably hails from Taiwan and a style of cooking that began in Chinese barbecue restaurants there before skipping the ocean and landing in the United States. Here in the U.S., Mongolian beef is typically made with flank steak and onions and garnished with green onions and sesame seed—as in the recipe. It’s not typically spicy, but add some crushed red pepper flakes, if you like things on the hot side—your kitchen, your rules

Now if that is not hearty enough for your campfire companions, add some corn muffins w/butter to the lot, or use a couple loaves of “french” bread to make garlic bread and/or cheesy-garlic bread, along with a plateful of cut-up veggies (crudites), and some good hot beverage to blow off the still-chilly and late spring air.

If you have any room left, apple pie and ice cream are a good way to follow the beef.  Enjoy!

Category: Cooking, Economy

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Skyjumper

Sounds good Ex-PH2. One to put in my “keeper” file to try another day. This afternoon I’m making Hungarian Beef Stew & Rosemary & seal salt focaccia bread for dinner. Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs. boneless chuck roast trimmed & cut into 1″ pcs. 3/4 tsp salt, divided 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, divided 2 tbsp olive oil 2 medium onions, chopped 2 tbsp all-purp flour 1 tbsp paprika 1 tsp caraway seeds 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup dry red wine 2 cups water, divided 1 1/2 cups beef stock 1 lb. potatoes cut into 1″ chunks 3 carrots, coarsely chopped (or diagonal sliced) 2 red bell peppers, sliced Steps: 1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper. Add 1/3 of beef to pan and cook until golden brown on all sides; transfer to plate; repeat with remaining beef in two more batches; transfer to plate when done. 2. Reduce heat to medium; add onions (cook until softened); add flour, paprika, caraway seed and garlic; cook 1 minute stirring. Add wine; cook 2 minutes stirring occasionally & scraping browned bits from the bottom of the pan. 3. Add 1 cup of water, stock & beef and bring to a slow simmer. reduce heat to low & cook for 1 1/4 hours. stir in potatoes, carrots, peppers and remaining 1 cup of water; simmer (partially covered) for 45 minutes – 1 hour or until meat & vegies are fork-tender. Season stew with remaining 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. You can eat it plain out of a bowl, over rice, or over noodles. The focaccia you can butter & eat along with the stew, dip it in the stew or do whatever the hell you want to do with…who am I to tell people how to eat. (grin) Ex, I’m sure, could suggest a wine to go with this (but my suggestion would be no Ripple or Mad-Dog 20-20……….all though….). (smile) As for my tastes, freshly ground & brewed “manly man” coffee with balls. Now I have to go… Read more »

Skyjumper

“seal salt”???

My cheese & crackers, got all muddy!!

My typing finger is going into quarantine for that!

Combat Historian

Condiment found only in the LRRP rations of salty Navy SEALs?

AW1Ed

Almost fixed that for you, but it’s just too damn funny.
*grin*

Combat Historian

You mean Genghis Khan didn’t personally cook this dish as he watched his hordes burn down the Duchy of Muscovy and slaughter its men and round up its women?

As one who grew up in Hawaii, can’t think of eating Mongol Beef with anything else other than white sticky rice…

gitarcarver

For those who like to cook under pressure:

Instant Pot Mongolian Beef

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds flank steak
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, you can use light brown sugar instead
1/2 cup low sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Instructions

Cut flank steak against the grain into thin slices. Cut longer slices in half so that they are bite-sized.
Place flank steak slices in a medium bowl and add cornstarch. Stir until evenly coated. Let sit 10 minutes.
Make the sauce. In a medium bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, beef broth, vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Turn Instant Pot to “Saute” mode. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and when hot, sear flank steak in batches until browned on both sides. Add more oil if needed between batches. Be sure not to crowd the flank steak. Hit “Cancel” on the Instant Pot.
Note: If you’d rather, you can sear the flank steak in a large skillet.
Return all flank steak to the Instant Pot. Pour sauce over it. Place lid on and set to Manual (High Pressure) for 10 minutes. Be sure the valve is in sealing position.
When time is up, do a quick pressure release.
Stir in green onions. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with rice.

AW1Ed

Absolutely no reason why not. I brown the burger, onions and pepper, and drain off most of the fat. Then it’s just dump in stock, tomatoes, beans (optional), seasonings, and lid it up.

gitarcarver

Chili and soups are things the Instant Pot does really well. What takes hours in a slow cooker to create flavors is infused and literally “pushed in” to food in a pressure cooker to create the complex flavors you want. For example, last night I wanted to make some tomato sauce to use in in IP lasagna. Took out the IP, sauteed the sausage meat, garlic, onions, and all that in the IP. Added the juices and turned on the slow cook setting. Let that sit for several hours and to be honest with you, I lost track of the time. It was too late to make the lasagna, so I removed some of the sauce, bagging and tagging before freezing and with the remaining sauce in the IP, dumped a bag of wide egg noodles, added liquid (because the noodles will soak up the liquid from the sauce,) set the timer for 5 minutes, released the pressure and viola! A hearty, yummy meal cooked entirely in one pot. The only dishes I had were serving dishes and cutlery as well as a small bowl into which I had drained the sausage meat grease. Anyway, here ya go: The Best Instant Pot Chili Yield: 8 servings; prep time: 15 minutes; cook time: 45 minutes; total time: 1 hour Ingredients: 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil 2 pounds 85/15 ground beef 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium sweet onion, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 poblano chili, minced 3 tablespoons tomato paste 3 tablespoons chili powder 2 teaspoons smoked paprika 2 teaspoons dried oregano 2 teaspoons cocoa powder 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 (12-ounce) can lager or pilsner beer 1 1/2 cups beef stock 2 (10.75-ounce) cans tomato puree 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves 1/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese Directions: Set a 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. Heat canola oil; add beef and cook until beef has browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble… Read more »

gitarcarver

Don’t be offended by this, but for some reason it is called an “Instant Pot” and not “Instapot.” (Although everyone I know calls it an “Instapot” for online searching, the correct name is better.)

AW1Ed has said that he has the Ninja cooker which is very similar in function and does multiple things including pressure cooking.

I can’t speak for the Ninja brand, but AW1Ed speaks of them highly.

The Instant Pot comes in lots of varieties and sizes including 3 quart, 6 quart (which is what I have) and an 8 quart.

I have the Lux version and it is a 7-in-1 cooker with auto settings for:

Soup, Meat/Stew, Bean/Chili, Poultry, Sauté/Simmer, Rice, Multigrain, Porridge, Steam, Slow Cook, Keep Warm, Yogurt, Manual, and Pressure Cook.

I’ve used the the saute, rice, slow cook, yogurt, keep warm, manual, and pressure cook settings.

The company has also come out with a lid for the 6 quart that does hot air frying. That’s my next purchase.

My better half and I have given them as wedding gifts, Christmas gifts, and birthday gifts. No one has said they aren’t using them and love them. One friend bought a reconditioned one from QVC and was a lot cheaper and it has worked great for her. Generally speaking, you can get the things and accessories in a lot of places or from Amazon if you so desire.

Good luck to you.

AW1Ed

5th/77th FA

Other than the ginger root, which I had to Google Foo and spend a goodly amount of time reading up on, this is a very good all time old favorite of crockett pot makers of orasted beef beast. Putting the sifted flour in a paper sack or large zip lock baggie and shaking him vigorously is a good way of coating the beef beast too. That browning process makes a nice crunchy, seal (not seal salt) in the flavor of the beef beast itself. And yes, CH, goodly bed of sticky rice with a pile of this on him is a plate that would make the proverbial puppy pull a freight train. Plus, in addition to any of the breads listed by Ex, a pan of buttered milk cat headed biscuits makes an excellent sopper for the pot likker.

“…apple pie and ice cream…” I love you, you know that, don’t you?

Graybeard

This is a recipe my grandmother had.
The copy I have was made by my mother.

Squash Casserole
(“summer squash”)
2 Cups cooked squash
¾ stick margarine
2 Eggs
1 Tsp. Salt
½ Tsp. Pepper

1 Cup chopped Onion
1 Cup grated cheese
1 Cup evaporated milk
2 cups cracker crumbs

Mash cooked squash
Add other ingredients
Mix well. Pour into
greased casserole.
Bake at 375º for about 40 min.

Gonna make this one soon. My yellow squash is coming on strong. Picked a mess of beans today. Corn is tasseling and growing great guns. If all them termaters make and I get some more jalapeño we’re gonna have some good salsa in a month or two.

Posted in the right place this time. Sorry, guys.

OWB

Sounds like something I ate many moons ago at a good old southern restaurant chain except that they thinly sliced the yellow squash. Never could figure out just how they assembled it, but this sounds like it would result in what I ate back then, and have been pining for ever since.

Closest I ever got was just frying up the squash with plenty of black pepper and onions until it was good and brown, almost crispy. Yummy, but not the casserole.

Graybeard

It is a pretty common dish in these latitudes.

5th/77th FA

It’s a pretty common dish in these longitudes of your latitudes too, Graybeard. Younger brother is usually assigned this cheesy squash recipe preparation for the annual Family Reunion we have here at Firebase Magnolia. It is some for sure good eating.

Because of the Chinesecommunist Originated Virus Infecting Disease of 2019 (COVID19), the date of 6 June 2020 for the Reunion here is in jeopardy/on hold. It has also put a hold on the Reunions planned for Nebraska and Dakota, 17 thru 25 June 2020. We won’t make any further decisions till at least after the FIRST of June. We usually have a right large group at each location, 40 to 100 people, from all over the country, and many are in “hot spot” areas. Three more reasons why I am just totally pissed at the Chinese Communists and the domestic enemies of our Republic for spreading this Scamdemic. The Way Out West trip has been in the planning stages since June of 2017, and was confirmed/reserved in June of 2019.

I “Like” pineapple upside down cake too, My’Lady….with ice cream. Did I make mention that when I made my provision run to the K Roger store on Sunday Past, I picked up a nice assortment (8) of Blue Bunny Ice Creams that they had a deal on?

Graybeard

I hoping our big mission trip/family reunion is still on for July.

The Wuhan virus that is putting egg all over CCP’s Xi face sure messed up a lot of stuff. I’d sure like to spit in his face and slap him with a 1×4 a few times.

Skyjumper

Graybeard, I am sooooooooooo jealous of you & your garden.

Just fixing to put in my tomato & pepper (bell, jalapeño, Thai) plants this afternoon, to be followed up with cuke, beets and other seeds.

Been way to0 cool & wet here in Cheesehead land to plant. Still in the 40’s at night.

Graybeard

90’s with 6n% humidity today here. I have to get in the garden early or it’ll drain me quickly.

I forgot to mention the okra is shooting on up. Louisiana-raised son-in-law will hopefully make us some good gumbo when that comes on.

We are celebrating our youngest grandchilds 1st birthday (outside) this afternoon before the rains roll in. But I’m too old/out of shape to work in the hot sun safely any more.

Also gotta figure out what new from-scratch cake I’ll make for Mrs. GB. Her 70th is this Sunday, so I gotta find/figure out something good.

5th/77th FA

GB, Mama used to make a 2 layer fruit cocktail cake back in the 60s/70s. Her original recipe (handwritten) can’t be found and a quick Google Foo showed eleventyseven versions. Maybe too much sugar with all the fruit, but IIRC, she added no sugar at all to the cake recipe. Not a fruit cake, but a fruit cocktail cake. Aunt Martha made what was called an icebox fruit cake that was of a chewy, almost candy consistency. There was a peach filled cake out in the family lore too, somewhere. The FIRST of the Georgia Peaches have shipped to market as of this week.

Graybeard

I remember that cake, too. Someone on Mrs. GB’s side of the family made it.

I believe you are correct that they’d use the syrup from the can and not add sugar.

I found something in an old Fanny Farmer Cookbook I have and will be working on Saturday.

I’ll let y’all know how it goes!

5th/77th FA

You are correct. The juice/syrup in the can was about the only liquid that went into the flour…well and the eggs. They each would cheat a little and pour the syrup and the eggs in the mixing bowl and use that old school hand operated egg beater to mix up the flour & eggs into a batter, and only then add the fruit and fold it into the batter by hand. Ever who helped got to lick the egg beater and the wooden mixing spoon.

Sometimes I wonder what got whupped with that mixing spoon more, me or a bowl of batter! 😀

Graybeard

Yep. That’s how they’d do it!

But my Momma wouldn’t risk her mixing spoon on my butt. She had Daddy make paddles out of 1×4’s and wrap the handles in that cloth bandaging tape that she kept on hand to use on our various injuries.

She and Daddy broke a number of those paddles on our butts, but we came out better for it.

Jeff LPH 3, 63-66

I took a pack of two white castle burgers from the freezer, opened one end and into the nuker for one minute 12 seconds and voila a meal and then an hour or two later I took out a tagamint, popped it out from the blister and washed it down with a little city gin. Out Phukin standing. White castles are like a sore pecker in that you can’t beat them.

AW1Ed

Live on the edge, Jeff LPH 3, and no one can sneak up behind you.