Crispy Orange Beef

Tonight it was just the Foodie Girls for dinner,

so I decided to head East for inspiration.

I pulled a package of boneless chuck eye steak that

had been marked down to $2.99 a pound

out of the freezer.

I peeled and cut a carrot.

I also cut a celery rib

and diced half a yellow bell pepper.

I cut about 1/3 cup red onion into chunks.

I then cut one bunch broccoli florets into bite-size pieces.

These were set aside.

I also had some leftover sauce from last night's dinner.

That was a whiskey sauce with soy sauce, honey, garlic,

red pepper flakes and a bit of whole grain mustard.

Then I added 2 tablespoons of orange juice

(since I didn't have an orange),

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup white sugar

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1 tablespoon grated frozen (or fresh) ginger

1 clove garlic (not shown), grated

to the leftover sauce.

The meat was sliced into pieces against the grain.

I like the late afternoon light here.

The veggies are prepped.



The longer-cooking veggies are in the larger bowl.






After resting in the fridge for a bit, the meat is coated in

cornstarch.

The meat is fried in hot oil in small batches

and set aside until all is cooked.


All but 1 tablespoon of the oil is drained and then the

carrots, onion and celery are added to the pan.

Then the sauce is poured in and allowed to reduce.

Finally the meat is added back in and the

broccoli and peppers are added to the pan.

Then the heat is turned off and dinner is ready to be served.

I admit that I Semi-Ho'd the rice, using a microwave

product.

But, despite that fact, this was a lovely dinner.

We did decide that the next time we might try a

batter in order to keep the beef crispy.

Off to Asia for Lunch

My daughter and I had to go to town today for school supplies for her and food for all of us. We decided that we would also take this opportunity to go out to lunch together.

Did I mention school supplies? Might I also mention that many of the students for Indiana University have arrived back in town? Describing the stores as impassable just might give you a hint as to the chaos that we had to endure while we shopped. Well, while the townies might not appreciate the annual invasion of college students, I am sure that the retailers are ecstatic.

We survived the mass pile-ups in the aisles, the lines, the parking lots as well as the traffic, and headed out to a nice little restaurant near by. I have gone to the Sunny Palace restaurant once or twice before and have even blogged about it, but for some odd reason, I tend to forget that it is there. Odd that, given that I have always enjoyed the food there and have found the staff to be very helpful, even with their limited knowledge of the English language.

I woke up this morning with a sudden hankering for Korean Barbecue Pork. Now, I found this craving to be rather strange, given that I have never had that particular dish before. Oh well, who am I to argue?

Once we were seated I decided to order the Boneless Pork Ribs with the Pork Fried Rice. I had the choice of three soups: Wonton, Sweet and Sour, or Egg Drop. I decided to go with something different this time and ordered the Wonton Soup after I verified that chicken stock was not used in it.

My daughter misses having chicken at home, so she ordered the General Tso's Chicken with Pork Fried Rice and Wonton Soup.

The Wonton Soup arrives.

Each bowl had three pork-stuffed wontons, some strips of pork and diced scallions.

We both loved this soup and not a drop of soup was left in the bowls.

My daughter's General Tso's Chicken with the Pork Fried Rice. You really must thank her for allowing me to photograph it before she set into the dish.

And now may I introduce my Boneless Pork Ribs and Pork Fried Rice? This was just what I had in mind.

I will definitely have to remember that this place is here. Although, I couldn't help but notice that besides a couple of people who left soon after we arrived, we had the restaurant to ourselves. I do hope that this was just a slow time for them and not a normal occurrence.