A Chinese stir-fry that reminds me of home

Although I've been living in the US for years and love Western food, I occasionally crave home-style Chinese cooking. A Chinese stir-fry served with rice is not only easy to prepare, but it's also my go-to meal whenever I run out of cooking ideas or simply want to use up what's left in the fridge. Start with some peeled ginger in heated oil, crank up the heat, add some leafy greens or beans, then stir along with cubed tofu, sliced carrots or mushrooms, or anything you have on hand. Finish off with some seasoning and allow the mixture to steam for a couple of minutes, then you've got a satisfying stir-fry - the ultimate Chinese "comfort food."

Sometimes I do want my stir-fry to be fancier, and here's what I tried based on the Sesame-Orange Beef recipe from Martin Yan's Quick & Easy cookbook. I substituted actual beef with veggie beef strips from Trader Joe's, my favorite grocery store (there will be another post on Trader Joe's). The end-result is a cornucopia of beef strips, sliced oranges and veggies (I used green beans, asparagus, water chestnuts, and red scallions) that offers contrasting tastes and textures. I added some dried red pepper flakes at the end to give the dish a spicy kick to counterbalance the sweetness of the oranges and honey in the sauce.

Sesame-Orange Beef Stir-Fry, inspired by Martin Yan
Trader Joe's Beef-Less Strips
A note about Martin Yan - I first learned about him from his Yan Can Cook cooking show when I was a teenager in Hong Kong. I didn't take him too seriously because I felt his funny accent and often clown-like demeanor play into the Western stereotype of a Chinese man, and his recipes are not authentically Chinese. But as I learned more about cooking and the difficulty in getting Asian ingredients in many parts of the US, I began to appreciate what Martin has done to make Asian cooking accessible to Westerners and dispel any misunderstanding surrounding it. For instance, Chinese cooking is A LOT more than Chinese take-outs and insect-eating. It's hard to believe, but every travel show on China that I have seen in the US to date always features insect-eating as if it were something very commonplace in China, while most Chinese that I know never eat insects.

Martin's newest show is Martin Yan's China, now shown on PBS nationwide. He explores different regional cuisines as he travels across China and cooks simplified versions of the dishes he tasted. As always, Martin is full of energy on the show and pulls you along on his culinary journey. Although the show is not vegetarian at all, it's still a pleasure to watch!