Dad's Chinese Noodles

Dad's Chinese Noodles

Every family has that recipe that was created at home and you never make it the same twice.

This is one of those recipes that my father created one day.  

The year would have been 1976.  

I was 14 years old and this started me off on my adventure of being a cooking enthusiast

I started with 2 x Pork Tenderloins on the rotisserie

Put a pan under the roast to catch the drippings.

1.  makes less mess

2. you got drippings if you want to make gravy

Ye Old Temperature Guage

This help avoid raw meat and law suits

They are done and ready to be cut up

See that left hand?  

Yea, learn from my fail.

That hand got burnt by grabbing the rotisserie

It just came out of a flaming hot BBQ

Anyways, remove the rod and put it aside where it will not burn anyone else

Ready to cut

Really?  I am using a bread knife to cut the roast?

Must have been the first long knife that I could get my hands on

Yup, cooked all the way through

Concentration!

Mum, my camera person is stealing the pork as I am cutting it

Cutting away

Baked potatoe and rotisserie pork

Life is good

Now on to the Chinese Noodle part

Stir fry your veggies

The pot on the left has elbow macaroni on the boil

I put the remainder of the rotisserie pork in the frying pan along with the stir fried veggies

Mixing and mixing and mixing

Always with the mixing

Strain the cooked macaroni

Add it to the mixture

Mix that all up

The "secret" ingredient

You caught me adding the "secret" ingredient

Heat and serve

Ingredients

2 diced onions

5 stalks of celery

2 green peppers

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon crushed, minced or chopped garlic

1 pound elbow macaroni

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce AKA the "secret" ingredient

Left over meat, cut into bite sized chunks

Directions

Boil the elbow macaroni as per  the instruction on the package.  Some of you like it al dente or some of you like it cooked all the way through.  This is YOUR take on this recipe, not mine.

Fry up the veggies and spices.  Once they are fried up, add the left over meat.  When Dad and I used to make this, we first started with steak.  Not left over steak, but we would cook a steak, cut it up and use that.  Many years later, we found that adding pork was fantastic.  Back in the day, we would use soy sauce with liquid smoke vice the teriyaki sauce.  The liquid smoke meant that when I made this, Tonya wouldn't have any of it.  I used to add a lot of liquid smoke to ensure it was all mine.  (Sorry Tonya)

Once the meat, veggies, spices and other stuff has been added, stir in the strained elbow macaroni.

OK, another "back in the day" moment.  We also used to put this into a roasting pan and put it in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes.  This would brown the top layer.  Why did we do this?  I don't know.  It was just the way things were done.  Now, after it's been all mixed together, we serve it up and eat it.

Comments and suggestions are ALWAYS welcome.

15 Basic Stir-Fry Sauce Recipes

15 Basic Stir-Fry Sauce Recipes

Instructions for all of these recipes … just combine the ingredients in a small bowl, stir well to combine, then add to your stir fry. Don’t miss the tips at the bottom of the recipe list, as well

Lemon Stir-Fry Sauce – Great with seafood stir fries, such as shrimp and/or scallops, as well as chicken.

1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar

• • •

Lemon Stir-Fry Sauce II – nice with chicken and seafood.

2/3 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 -3 tablespoons lemon juice (to taste)
Optional: red pepper flakes

• • •

Soy Sesame Stir-Fry Sauce – good all-round Asian sauce, suitable for all proteins.

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tsp. rice wine vinegar
4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes
2 tsp. sugar

• • •

Basic Stir-Fry Sauce – good all-round sauce.

2/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup rice wine or rice vinegar
3 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

• • •

Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce – great with chicken and pork.

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider or rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes

• • •

Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce II – great with chicken, pork, beef and shrimp.

1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar or cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

• • •

Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce III – great with chicken, pork, beef and shrimp.

1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup pineapple juice (or addition 1/4 cup water)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

• • •

Hot and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce – good all-round sauce.

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 tsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. chile paste (sambal oleek)

• • •

Thai Stir-Fry Sauce – great with chicken or shrimp.

2/3 cup coconut milk
2 1/2 Tbsp. fish sauce
3 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/3 to 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili
2 1/2 tsp. brown sugar

• • •

Peanut Stir-Fry Sauce – perfect for noodles or chicken.

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tsp. granulated sugar (less if not using natural peanut butter)
4 tsp. natural peanut butter
2 Tbsp. water
2 teaspoons Asian chili garlic paste

Combine all ingredients and heat in microwave for 20-30 seconds.

• • •

Orange Stir-Fry Sauce – nice with chicken and pork.

3/4 orange juice
1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
2 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. Oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. Rice vinegar
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. Finely grated orange zest

• • •

Orange Stir-Fry Sauce II – nice with chicken and pork.

1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tsp. brown sugar
1 green onion, finely chopped

• • •

Spicy Orange Stir-Fry Sauce – great with chicken!

3/4 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. finely grated orange peel
1/2 tsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. sesame oil
Large pinch of dried crushed red pepper, or to taste

• • •

Orange Sesame Szechuan Stir-Fry Sauce – nice with chicken.

1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar or rice wine
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 tsp. sesame seeds
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 fresh red chili, finely chopped or 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (or 1/2 tsp. sambal oleek)

• • •

Spicy Szechuan Stir-Fry Sauce – great all-round spicy stir fry sauce.

3-4 Tbsp. sodium-reduced soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice wine or rice vinegar
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp.sesame oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. green onion, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. chili paste (sambal oleek or chili paste sauce with garlic)

• • •

Tips:

1.                          Some of these sauces already have cornstarch added but if they don’t, you can use this to thicken any sauce that you think is too thin. Simply combine 1 Tbsp. cornstarch with 3 Tbsp. water and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add a bit, stir and cook until sauce thickens. Add more as necessary.

2.                          Consider using low-sodium chicken broth and soy sauce to avoid an overly-salty finished dish.

3.                          Each of these sauces makes 1/2 – 1 cup of stir fry sauce. You may not need it all, depending on the amount of meat, noodles and/or vegetables you are stir frying. Add as necessary to make it as saucy as you like and thicken with the thickener above, if desired. Of course, you can also double the sauce if you’re making a lot of stir fry.

4.                          Some of these sauces already contain things like minced garlic, ginger, onion or chilis (or other heat) but if they don’t, be sure to consider adding some into your stir fry.

Everyone’s tastes are different so you will likely want to tweak the sauces to your tastes. If you print out the list, you can simply make notes as you go to develop your perfect sauce.

Cast Iron Veggie Fried Rice

Cast Iron Veggie Fried Rice

I know, I know, it's the same picture as the Chicken Cordon Bleu.  Like, hello...  it has both doesn't it?

This recipe is one of those fast and furious things that can be put together in 30 minutes or so.

Ingredients

2 cups minute rice
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon chicken stock (I use chicken soup base)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
A collection of your favorite veggies cut up stir fry style
1 or 2 drops of olive oil
3 or 4 tablespoons of butter
Pepper

Stuff you will need

Cast Iron Skillet
Cutting board
Sharp Knife
Paper Towel

Directions

Make your minute rice as per the directions on the box.  I add the oil, chicken stock and soy sauce to the water.  Once it is boiling, I add the rice.

Cut up your veggies as if you were doing a stir fry.  You like big chunks, then cut them big.  You like small diced veggies, well, get out the slap chopper and have your self a day.

Heat up your cast iron skillet on medium heat.  Once you see it smoking, add 1 or 2 drops of olive oil and using the paper towel, get that everywhere on the cast iron skillet.  Be careful not to burn yourself.  I haven't yet, but there is always the first time.

Add the butter and then the veggies.  Fry them up.  Once your veggies are done, probably about 10 minutes, add the rice.  Stir the rice into the veggies.  Continue to fry for another 5 to 7 minutes.

If you find that the video isn't working, click on the "YouTube" icon in the lower right of the video feed.  I would ask that while you are looking at the video, you click to subscribe to my YouTube Channel.  Also, click the "Thumbs Up" icon to share this video with your friends.

As always, comments and suggestions are ALWAYS welcome

Shredding the beef brisket for a stir fry

Shredding the beef brisket for a stir fry

From the previous post, I needed the beef brisket shredded.  This is the picture of the end results

Stir fry from previous post

Everything into the frying pan

I added teriyaki sauce to everything

Boiled up elbow macaroni

Added the stir fry to the macaroni

Make sure to get everything out of the pan

Mix is all up

It may not look like much in this picture, but it sure tasted great.

Here is two videos Mum made while I was shredding the beef brisket.

Comments and suggestions are ALWAYS welcome!