Mongolian Beef

This is a recipe that reflects the cooking techniques of northern China. The meaty flavor of this dish has made it popular, even with folks who don't usually like Chinese food.

Sauce:
2 teaspoons peanut oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2-cup soy sauce
1/2-cup water
1/3-cup brown sugar
1/2-teaspoon ginger, minced
1/4-cup hoisin sauce

Other ingredients:
1 lb. Flank steak or sirloin
12 green onions
1/4 cup cornstarch

Heat peanut oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, water, and hoisin. Add brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Raise heat to being mixture to a boil, and boil for 3 minutes or until the sauce turns thick. Remove from fire and set aside.

Cut steak across the grain into very thin strips. Coat meat with cornstarch and allow to sit for at least ten minutes. While meat sits, cut green onions into 1-inch pieces on a diagonal, and prepare chilies if you're going to use them.

Heat wok. When hot, put in one cup of vegetable oil. When oil is ready, add cornstarch- coated meat and stir-fry until the edges of the meat turn brown. Remove meat with a slotted spoon. Remove oil and place meat back into wok. Pour prepared sauce over meat and stir-fry for one minute. Add green onions and stir-fry for another minute. Serve over brown rice.

This dish is many times prepared in Szechwan style with hot peppers. To prepare this way, take two jalapeños or other hot peppers of comparable size and cut them into thin strips, add them with the green onions towards the end of cooking