A lot of Asian food share similar qualities, and yet still remain distinctive to their native origin. The again, who's to say who originated what? So why not just mix them up a bit to create a fusion dinner. Which is just what I did here, and on many other occasions. _____________________________________________________
Lo mein
Lo mein is a pretty traditional Chinese dish which I eaten all my life. It's basically a noodle dish that contains vegetables and some kind meat, fish or poult
ry. The term lo mein comes from the Cantonese lōu mihn (撈麵), meaning stirred noodles. It has over time been Americanized, and people expect to have a soft noodle that's been stir fried in wok with a brown sauce with an assortment of vegetables like carrots, onions, scallions, snow peas, bean sprouts, bok choy and others. The dish is defined by it's main meat component such as roast pork (Char Siu), chicken, beef, shrimp, lobster and any combination thereof. The dish could be considered a meal in itself, but when I was growing up, it was considered a side dish. _________________________________________
Bulgogi
Beef Bulgogi is a very popular Korean meat dish. The thinly sliced sirloin is marinated with a mixture of
soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and other ingredients. Bulgogi is traditionally grilled, but pan-cooking is also common practice. This is sort of Korean style teriyaki, where the sweet salty marinade is used to infuse the meat with a distinctive flavor. Bulgogi literally means "fire meat" in Korean, which refers to the cooking technique—over an open flame—rather than the dish's spiciness. I pan cooked my Bulgogi and added firm tofu, onions and scallions for a bit of color. You can add other vegetables to the process like sweet red bell peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms etc. I kept my version fairly simple. You can make your own sauce and marinate overnight, or if you're lucky, you have a Korean market nearby that's got it all ready for you. _____________________________________________________
Hot & Spicy Shrimp
Who's to say where this dish originated and how to prepare it is as equally diverse. There are Hunan versions, Sze
chuan versions, Thai versions and so on. This one is my own interpretation, using a chili sesame oil and canola oil. This really simple dish to prepare and the results are well rewarding. The trick is to be careful how hot you make it. A common method for making Chinese style (Szechuan) spciy shrimp uses a technique called "velveting" where the shrimp is submerged into hot oil for a moment or two before going into the wok to be stir fried. I added sweet red and green bell peppers and onions._________________________________________
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