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Restaurant Inspired; Homemade Goodness

I ended up with a little over 9 pounds of fresh oranges. And, I went to the Asian store, Ahn Chau’s in Milwaukee. So, even though I’m looking at more Japanese foods, I ended up thinking about Chinese food on the way home from the store.

 

I start with all fresh ingredients, or, at least as much as I can. Everyone seems to love Beef with Broccoli, but I like the spicier Orange Beef, so, I kind of merged them. I’ll call it Orange Beef with Broccoli, inspired from the traditional Chinese restaurant dishes, but healthier in my home made dish.

 

 

Plated Orange Beef w/ Broccoli

 

 

2# beef roast. I cut it into 1” cubes, coat each piece in flour

1 large onion, cubed in 1/2’ squares

2 pounds of cut broccoli (fresh or frozen)

In a large wok, heat 3 TBS peanut oil, 1 tsp sesame oil

Put the floured beef into the wok, and let brown. When all sides are fairly brown, add the onion and broccoli, and let beef get nice and caramelized.

 

 

Nice dark brown, caramelized meat, with the nutty smell of the flour getting cooked.

Grate the zest of 1 orange, cut in half, and hand juice the orange in a bowl, and set aside.

The finer grate allows for easier eating, with a stronger orange flavor in the dish.

In a small mixing bowl, mix 1/3-1/2 cup of soy sauce, 2-3 TBS Sriracha sauce, 1-2 TBS raw honey, blend together, black pepper to taste, and thicken with 4 TBS cornstarch.

When the meat is nice and dark, add the orange zest & juice, then gradually pour the sauce all over, while stirring for even coating over the whole pan. Sprinkle black sesame seeds as a finisher, quickly stir, cut the heat, and sauce will thicken as it sets. Serve with steamed rice. Enjoy.

Final product, before you put it over a bed of freshly steaming rice.

Kitchen Lab Experiment 20162703.14 - Healthy Green Bean Casserole

Green Bean Casserole:

2# bag of frozen cut green beans
1 - 8oz package white button mushrooms, chopped
1 - 12oz can of fat free evaporated milk
12 oz water, divided
3 TBS powdered tapioca
3 TBS Maggi Super Veg soup/seasoning mix (or to taste)
French's Fried Onion

Preheat oven to 350F

In a large baking pan, place the green beans, mushrooms and evaporated milk.

Using the milk can, put about 6oz water, and the tapioca and blend well with a fork.  Pour into the pan.

Place another 6 oz water into the can, and blend the seasoning mix, and pour with the rest of the ingredients.

Bake for 90 minutes (longer for a softer bite), stirring every 20-30 minutes.  Leave uncovered the last 10-20 minutes.  Add onions on top, place back in oven, close door, shut the heat, let the latent heat brown the onions into a golden color.