Homemade Sweet & Sour Takeout.

Did I say this is the best recipe for sweet and sour take out I've ever tasted...Better than restaurant...Amazing flavor, texture and versatility. Delicious for chicken, pork or shrimp. Once you've made this at home, you'll never order out again.  Mouth watering and crazy good!    First the sauce: This is a simple and delicious sauce. 1/2 cup sugar 6 tablespoons rice vinegar 4 tablespoons water 4 1/2 tablespoons ketchup For the slurry: 3 tablespoons water 3 tablespoons cornstarch To a sauce pan over medium heat, add all ingredients; except the slurry. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low.  In a small bowl mix cornstarch and water together and pour into the sauce to thicken, It will thicken fast, so continue to stir to incorporate. Remove from heat and set aside. The chicken or pork: 1 to 2 large chicken breast or 2 country pork ribs   Wash meat and cut into bite size cubes, about 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Place meat into a bowl. Marinade for meat: 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/8 teaspoon white pepper 1/4 cup water Add marinade ingredients to bowl and mix with hands to coal well. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Batter: 1 egg 1 teaspoon garlic dash white pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup corn starch 1 cup water  ...................................................... 1 1/4 cups flour 3 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon baking powder   Stir ingredients together and add 1 1/4 cups flour and beat well.  Add vegetable oil and baking powder and mix well.   Heat oil to 370 F. Add chicken/pork into the batter and coat all well with hands or spoon. One piece at a time lower into hot oil. Continuously move meat in oil with spider or spoon. Once meat is lightly golden brown, remove from pan.  Wait 30 to 45 seconds and return to hot oil. Fry again to golden brown and remove from pan. Set aside. If desired, to a skillet with scant drizzle of oil,  add 1 bell pepper and 1 onion, cut into bite sized pieces and stir fry 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 can of chunked pineapple to stir fry and serve with sweet and sour chicken or pork. Enjoy!

Mongolian Beef with Vegetables and Rice

We love Chinese food. I mean who doesn't? The fact is I would eat Chinese every time we go out to eat if I could or at least call for a take out. I would say it's my biggest weakness. And in the last few years I honed my cooking skills toward Asian dishes and now I can do just about any dish at home. NOT good! Saying I'm not going out to eat Chinese has really lost any meaning when I know I can whip it up in a matter minutes. So now it's just a matter of will power.  A couple of years ago I remembered how much I loved Mongolian grills. And I decided to learn the art. I may not be a master, but I think this rivals some of the best Mongolian Beef I've had and it's so simple. If you're like me, you're going to want this in the rotation again and again. So grab your wok and give it a go!


Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds tender steak, thinly sliced. I like flank steak for this.
1/2 cup cornstarch 
3 to 4 tablespoons peanut or canola oil for frying
1/2 cup carrots, cut into coins
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 cup onion, sliced
1 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup water chestnuts
6 green onions, cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces

Sauce:
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup Hoisin sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions:
Stir sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. In a skillet or wok, add cooking oil and heat until smoking. Mix steak pieces in cornstarch and place in the pan or wok. Stir fry just until it is still very pink in the middle.
Add carrots, ginger and garlic and stirfry for 2 minutes. Add onion, broccoli and water chestnuts and stir fry for 2 minutes. Toss in green onions and cook 1 minute. Add bowl of sauce. Cook until sauce has thickened and is coating the meat and vegetables. Remove and serve with white rice or your favorite noodles.