Instructions: NOTES: Thanks to reader Alice Ho, heres a ginger beef recipe thats stir fried not deep fried. If you partially freeze the beef, it can be cut into thin shreds making it quick work in a wok or wide skillet. Marinating the meat and cooking it, still partially frozen, keeps more of the meat juices in the meat and out of the sauce. For dessert, a tropical mixture of lichees, mandarins and grapes would be refreshing. If you thought soy sauce was soy sauce, Alice Ho offers these tips

"Black and light soy sauces are distinguishable. If you shake the light sauce, the bottle is transparent. This is easier than deciphering the chinese characters on the bottles." Ho says the baking powder in this recipe acts as a meat tenderizer.

DIRECTIONS: Cut beef into shreds, while partially frozen. Use a sharp cleaver or chefs knife. Prepare onion, pepper, ginger and garlic; set aside.

Pour marinade ingredients (mixed together) over beef and let stand for 30 minutes (longer if you wish).

Heat wok or wide skillet; add 2 Tb vegetable oil. Fry onion and pepper in hot oil, stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste, and cook for a minute. Vegetables should be crisp and glistening. Remove from pan.

Add another 2 Tb oil to the pan; heat and add garlic and ginger.

Add beef, stirring quickly to separate strips that cling together.

Add 1/4 cup hot water; stir and cook for about a minute. Return cooked vegetables to wok and blend quickly.

Season to taste, as you wish, or add 1 Tb oyster sauce to enhance the flavor. Serve over hot steaming rice.

Serves 2. Offer a second stir-fry
dish to round out the meal.

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