Someone emailed me and asked me for a quick recipe that can be made with vegetables and meat. This is my 'fall back' dish whenever I'm in a rush or just too lazy to think of what to cook for dinner. This very basic dish can be made with any available ingredients in your fridge. For this recipe, I used beef tri-tips and broccoli. I blanched the broccoli in boiling water for one minute to keep the bright green color. You can adjust the amount of oyster sauce depending on your taste and the kind of chicken stock you use (canned stock are already salty.)

2 long strips of beef tri-tip, sliced thinly about 2-in. long
2 bunches of broccoli, cut into pieces and blanched for 1-min. in boiling water
1/4 onion, sliced thinly
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp Oyster sauce (Lee Kum Kee brand, for example)
2 tsp Chinese rice wine (or sweet rice wine like Mirin)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 tsp sesame oil
pinch of chili pepper flakes (optional)
1 tbsp canola oil

Mix oyster sauce, rice wine, sugar, cornstarch, chicken broth, sesame oil and ground pepper, set aside. Heat oil in a large pan or skillet. Saute garlic and onions over medium heat until limp. Add beef strips and chili pepper flakes, cook until no longer pink (this cooks quickly since it is sliced thin). Add broccoli pieces, and cook until broccoli stalk is tender but still crunchy, about 4 minutes or less. Add the sauce mixture, stir and mix until it thickens, about 1-1/2 minutes. Serve with steamed rice.

Tip: I purchase the family-size beef tri-tips pack and use the FoodSaver vacuum system to re-pack it in small portions, each pack is just enough for one dish.
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One advantage of living in New England is the seafood. Since we are on the coast, the price of seafood here is comparatively cheaper than let's say Nebraska. Every summer, dh and I always look forward to having lobster. Lobster can be bought all year round of course, but it is expensive. During the summer months, you can get lobster for $5.99/pound if it is on sale. The most popular way to cook lobster is to steam it (don't boil it!) and another popular restaurant dish is stuffed lobster. I use the steam method if I feel lazy and don't want to spend too much time prepping. But if I'm in the mood to cook (just like the other day), I cook lobster the Cantonese way.

This recipe is from Eileen Lo's Chinese Kitchen. The original recipe calls for fresh live lobsters to be chopped up. I tried this the first time but found it disconcerting. First, I felt guilty cutting up something that is still 'alive' and second, it grossed me out. So the next time that I cooked this dish, I steamed the lobsters for about 4 minutes so it's partially-cooked. You can also use shrimps in lieu of lobsters. Read more for the recipe.

I omitted the part which calls for ground pork and eggs. It's just personal

preference, I think this dish is best with just the lobster and the sauce. If you like sauce on your rice, then double the marinade. Yummy!

LOBSTER CANTONESE

by Eileen Lo

The Chinese Kitchen

Marinade:

1 3/4 tsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce

3/4 tsp salt (I omit this since it's already salty for me)

1 1/2 tsp sugar

pinch ground pepper

2 tsp sesame oil

Lobsters, chopped into pieces

1/4 lb lean ground pork

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1/8 cup peanut oil

2 tsp minced garlic

3 large eggs, beaten

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

2 tbsp Chinese white rice wine

2 scallions, trimmed and finely sliced

1. In a large bowl, combine the marinade ingredients. Place the lobster in the marinade and allow to rest 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lobster from the marinade and reserve both separately. As the lobster marinates, mix the ground pork with the salt and sugar thoroughly; reserve.

2. Heat oil over high heat and add 1 tsp of minced garlic. When it browns, add pork mixture. Stir to separate and cook for 3 min. When the pork changes color, add the eggs and mix into a soft scramble. Turn off heat, remove all the ingredients and reserve.

3. Using a clean pan, heat oil and add minced ginger. Add the remaining garlic and stir until brown. Add lobster pieces. Spread in a thin layer. Turn the lobster pieces. Add the wine at the edge of the pan and mix thoroughly. When the lobster meat reddens, add the pork-egg mixture and mix all ingredients thoroughly. Add the reserved marinade and stir. Add the scallions and mix well. Turn off heat, transfer to a heated platter, garnish with cucumber and serve with steamed rice.

It is a treat for me to get fresh quail eggs. I can only buy it at an Asian grocery about an hour's drive from our town. This is one of the dish that I like to cook using these kind of eggs. It is very simple yet full of flavor.

All you need are garlic, onions, fresh shrimp, hard-boiled quail eggs, fresh green peas, chicken broth and cornstarch. Saute the garlic and onions until translucent and soft. Add shrimps and green peas. Saute for a minute then add some chicken broth, just enough to make a sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Dissolve some cornstarch in the chicken broth (1 tsp cornstarch + 2 tsp. water) and add to thicken the sauce.Add the boiled and shelled quail eggs. Cook for about 2 minutes (until the shimps turn pink) it is very important not to overcook the shrimp. If you need exact measurements, just drop me a note and I'll send you the recipe. :)

There are many variations of this dish. You can use chicken in lieu of shrimps or you can add cashews for some crunch. I don't cook this dish often because my husband does not like peas. Too bad for him since he's missing out on a great and simple dish. :)

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