better than takeout Chinese :)

Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein, Mandu

so yesterday, I found myself with too much broccoli on my hands. Mark had purchased broccoli instead of my requested asparagus for the Oktoberfest meal...broccoli just wasn't going to go. (Oh, and Mark would like me to tell the blogosphere that I'm the one that came up with the spice mix for the sauerbraten....he thinks I'm not taking enough credit :) ).

Usually an abundance of broccoli in my house would be turned into my famous Chicken, Broccoli and Ziti....mine is an alfredo sort of version though, and the boy can't go off and serve his country until he's down to fighting weight...not easy with me as a mother, that's for sure ! Whilst perusing the Cooking Light website for ideas, I found a Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein recipe which I thought could be easily adapted to meet the dining requirements of my audience (plenty of meat, for one, and not so heavy on the onion) . The boy loves lo mein, and contrary to popular belief I am a nice mom :) I used sambal oelek because I love the stuff, but really whatever type of chili paste you may have around would work fine.

To complete the meal, I served this with some mandu which I had in the freezer (H Mart again) - basically just pan fry according to directions. The mandu were very good, but I still haven't found ones to match up to the ones I grew up on (I'm kind of part adopted Korean, in case you didn't know :) ) . Once I do, you'll be sure to hear about it. I was very happy with the dipping sauce I came up with though, so I will share that with you all.

tonight's plan is Moroccan.....tune in tomorrow !

Beef-Broccoli Lo Mein
(adapted from Cooking Light)

12 oz Chinese noodles or vermicelli, cooked
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chopped broccoli
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 pounds flank steak, trimmed and cut across the grain into long, thin strips
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sambal oelek (chili paste)

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Combine pasta and
sesame oil, tossing well to coat.

While pasta cooks, heat peanut oil in a large wok or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the
ginger and garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add broccoli and onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add steak, and
sauté 5 minutes or until done. Add pasta mixture, soy sauce, and remaining ingredients; cook 1
minute or until lo mein is thoroughly heated, stirring constantly.

Soy-Ginger-Scallion Dipping Sauce

This works well for any kind of Asian-style dumpling or egg/spring roll....

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tsp sugar 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons chopped scallions

Combine everything except the scallions in a medium bowl. Whisk or stir well to dissolve the sugar. Stir in scallions.