I’ve tried to make this dish twice now, going so far as to claim that it was great the second time. This isn’t true. It was only alright, thought BF did enjoy it – over a year and a half ago now. I’ve mentioned before how wary I am when making Chinese food… so much labor when I can get something generally comparable or better from the takeout place down the block. Or, since I now live in Manhattan, I can even hop on over to Chinatown for real deal stuff!
In any case, I was determined last week to creatively use the hanger steak I’d purchased from FreshDirect. Hanger steak is not a favorite of mine anymore, nor does BF like it all that much, when it is served as a steak. However, this time around, I figured out that if I slice it thinly and marinate it… it makes for a delicious addition to broad white noodles!
I marinated this in soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, fresh minced garlic and- key ingredient!!!- corn starch. The corn starch coats the meat and amazingly, keeps the meat tender and feeling silky in your mouth. It made a huge difference (I omit this step for chicken, though my mother does not, because I don’t like chicken feeling silky. I’m not sure why, but when the chicken is silky/slippery in my mouth, I don’t like the way it tastes).
After I cooked a package of dried white noodles (use fresh if you can, but I couldn’t tell you where to buy those or how to make those for my life…), I turned up the heat under my everyday pan. When it was good and hot, I drizzled some olive oil down and tossed in my beef strips along with the excess marinade, stirring them around frequently. After they’d browned a bit, I removed them, set them aside, and then added sliced Napa cabbage and sliced button mushrooms to the pan. At this point I added some ho yau (Lee Kum Kee “Oyster Sauce”) to the pan, and stirred it all up. Once the mushrooms looked to be done or close to, I added the noodles, stirred again, and added about a 1/2 cup to a cup of (homemade, but you can use storebought) chicken stock. Once all of that is mixed together, I added the beef back, a dash more ho-yau (as necessary) and let it cook into a thick yummy sauce.
Delicious. All eaters enjoyed!
Happy eating!
Leave a Reply