Beef and Broccoli and Lo Mein

My family loves chinese food.  I love it because I can fill it up with vegetable that the boys might not eat otherwise.  The only thing I don't like, it is a little labor intensive.  But, it's really worth it when you find a recipe, cook it up, and find it really does live up to the things people have said about it.  These recipes lived up to every accolade they were given on Pinterest.

While chinese food inherently is not low sodium, I try to cut the salt where I can. I use reduced sodium soy sauce and I never add any additional salt or soy sauce at the table.  In any case, these recipes are truly worth trying.  I can go to bed feeling good that our tummy's are full and everyone had their daily vegetable servings today!

Enjoy!!



http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Lo-Mein#
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Lo-Mein
http://pinterest.com/pin/33073378483968847/
http://trickschefs.com/showthread.php?tid=949

Restaurant Style Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients
1/3 cup oyster sauce
2 teaspoons Asian (toasted) sesame oil
1/3 cup sherry
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3/4 pound beef round steak, cut into 1/8-inch thick strips
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more if needed
1 thin slice of fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
1 pound broccoli, cut into florets
Directions
Whisk together the oyster sauce, sesame oil, sherry, soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Place the steak pieces into a shallow bowl, pour the oyster sauce mixture over the meat, stir to coat well, and marinate for at least 30 minutes in refrigerator.
Heat vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, and stir in the ginger and garlic. Let them sizzle in the hot oil for about 1 minute to flavor the oil, then remove and discard. Stir in the broccoli, and toss and stir in the hot oil until bright green and almost tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the broccoli from the wok, and set aside.
Pour a little more oil into the wok, if needed, and stir and toss the beef with the marinade until the sauce forms a glaze on the beef, and the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Return the cooked broccoli to the wok, and stir until the meat and broccoli are heated through, about 3 minutes.

Lo Mein

Ingredients

• 6 ounces (170 grams) vermicelli, uncooked
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 5 cups (350 grams) chopped bok choy (a Chinese vegetable with a white stalk and dark green leaves)
• 1 cup (240 mL) low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) coarsely shredded carrot
• 1/4 cup (25 grams) chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup (35 grams) sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup (130 grams) baby corn
• Additional low sodium soy sauce

1. Cook pasta according to package. Drain and set aside.
2. Coat a wok or large nonstick skillet cooking spray and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Heat at medium-high temperature (375 degrees F/190 degrees C) until hot.
3. Stir-fry garlic for 2 minutes.
4. Add bok choy; stir-fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add chicken broth, soy sauce and red pepper. Stir fry for 1 minute.
6. Add carrots, green onions, mushrooms and baby corn. Stir-fry for approximately 2 minutes.
7. Add cooked pasta; toss gently.
8. Sprinkle additional soy sauce (you can decide how much) over entire mixture; toss more.
9. Serve and enjoy.