Last night she saw the military announcement,The Emperor was conscripting,There were twelve announcements of conscription,And Father's name was in every one of them.Father had no grown son,Nor Mulan an older brother;She wanted to buy a saddle and horse,And from now on fought in place of her Father.
- Guo Maoquian (12th century), “Ballad of Mulan”,Musical Records of Old
Its unclear if Mulan was a true historical individual but a ballad was created to describe the events of such a character almost identical to the unfolding events in the movie. A girl named Mulan joined the army of China as a substitution for her feeble father but, unlike in the movie, she was never discovered. Several live action films were created as Chinese drama telling the same fable. The concept of Mulan - a woman taking the place of a man or doing what a man can do - has been an inspiration for independent women around the world; I believe anyway. She isn’t classified as a Disney princess but she’s a very popular character amongst girls. In fact, I owned a Mulan and Shang doll. Told you I was lame!
The Huns were nomadic huntsmen hailing from the grasslands of Mongolia, in North Central China. Barbaric, they were, and thought nothing of morals, rights, or chivalry. Not only did they invade China in 200BC but years after they attempted to conquer Europe with the infamous Attila leading them. It was only after the death of the “Scourge of God”, Attila, did their numbers dwindle. Without a mighty leader, any cluster of warriors are susceptible of defeat. Attila’s death was sudden and unexpected, leaving the Huns very vulnerable. It took other equally barbarous clans, Goths from Germany for example, to slaughter the Huns just as they had massacred many innocent people during their reign of terror.
And that’s it for today’s history lesson! Now on to the food.
Mongolian Beef is a popular Chinese-American dish that many restaurants - not really take out facilities - have on their menu. Beef is the main protein of choice but chicken is second; however, I’m certain pork would work well as the method is very straightforward and easy to adapt. This is the reason why I chose shrimp instead. I like shrimp every now and again. At times, I feel like I’m forcing myself to eat it but when I take one bite - I’m in ecstasy. This dish was one of my absolute favorites very close to Ma Po Tofu. I think the shrimp melded beautifully with the spicy sauce and vegetables. In my opinion, shrimp pair wonderfully with all spicy sauces.
A few days ago at the hospital, the aroma of fried shrimp polluted my nose and I was thrown back into my former days of fast food dining. Anyone recall Long John Silvers? The restaurant chain is still in existence but it’s locations are very very sparse now a days. Popeye’s seems to be the fried shrimp king around these parts; Red Lobster is the more classier carrier of fried shrimp. I like Red Lobster a lot because they catered to me when I informed them I suffered from Celiac’s disease. The manager came out with an ingredients listing of all their spice mixtures and explained to me what didn’t include gluten. I felt safe eating out again all thanks to him. Still, it’s rare that I do. Why? Where can I go, at the moment, besides Whole Foods for dinner that doesn’t put me at risk? Hmm..maybe I’ll treat myself one day.
Back to the recipe, the dish is pure effort-lacking. The longest part of the entire meal is the prep work and cooking rice if you don’t own a rice cooker. I served it with steamed ginger broccoli but you can substitute that with any vegetable of choice or just have the meal on its own maybe with a first source of delicate egg drop soup - in cooler weather of course. When the outcome of homemade Chinese recipes, such as this, are incredibly delicious, you honestly don’t want to order take out again. It’s a lot healthier too because you can control the amount of oil and the sodium content as well.
So bring honor to us all by preparing your own Chinese feast as opposed to picking up a phone and dialing your local takeout facility.
Mongolian Shrimp8 Shrimp
6 dried mushrooms, soaked in water & halved
½ cup bean sprouts
2-3 scallions (depending on how much of these you like)
¼ of an onion, sliced thin
¼ of red pepper, sliced & coarsely chopped
1 tbsp fermented black beans
1 tbsp of Chili-garlic sauce
1 tbsp of garlic flakes, crushed
1 tbsp rice flour
1 packet of sugar substitute or 4 tsp of sugar, separated in half
Salt
½ cup mushroom stock or broth
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
Splash of rice wine vinegar
Combine half of the sugar packet, flour, and slat to taste in a bag and shake to combine. Add the shrimp, shake until the shrimp becomes coated then set aside.
In a small dish, crush the black beans until they appear mushy and pasty. To this mush you then add the chili-garlic sauce with the remaining sugar. Stir until well combined then set this aside.
In a wok or nonstick pan, spray lightly with oil. Add the combined paste with garlic and fry until fragrant. Next add the mushrooms and fry, followed by the shrimp. As the coating thickens the liquid, thin it slight with water then hit it with a splash of rice wine vinegar. Now its time to add your onion, scallions, and pepper with the soy sauce and wine. Once the shrimp turn pink, it’s done.
Turn off the heat and stir in the bean sprouts. Serve with rice and another side, such as a steamed vegetable or vegetable stir-fry.
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- Guo Maoquian (12th century), “Ballad of Mulan”,Musical Records of Old
Its unclear if Mulan was a true historical individual but a ballad was created to describe the events of such a character almost identical to the unfolding events in the movie. A girl named Mulan joined the army of China as a substitution for her feeble father but, unlike in the movie, she was never discovered. Several live action films were created as Chinese drama telling the same fable. The concept of Mulan - a woman taking the place of a man or doing what a man can do - has been an inspiration for independent women around the world; I believe anyway. She isn’t classified as a Disney princess but she’s a very popular character amongst girls. In fact, I owned a Mulan and Shang doll. Told you I was lame!
The Huns were nomadic huntsmen hailing from the grasslands of Mongolia, in North Central China. Barbaric, they were, and thought nothing of morals, rights, or chivalry. Not only did they invade China in 200BC but years after they attempted to conquer Europe with the infamous Attila leading them. It was only after the death of the “Scourge of God”, Attila, did their numbers dwindle. Without a mighty leader, any cluster of warriors are susceptible of defeat. Attila’s death was sudden and unexpected, leaving the Huns very vulnerable. It took other equally barbarous clans, Goths from Germany for example, to slaughter the Huns just as they had massacred many innocent people during their reign of terror.
And that’s it for today’s history lesson! Now on to the food.
Mongolian Beef is a popular Chinese-American dish that many restaurants - not really take out facilities - have on their menu. Beef is the main protein of choice but chicken is second; however, I’m certain pork would work well as the method is very straightforward and easy to adapt. This is the reason why I chose shrimp instead. I like shrimp every now and again. At times, I feel like I’m forcing myself to eat it but when I take one bite - I’m in ecstasy. This dish was one of my absolute favorites very close to Ma Po Tofu. I think the shrimp melded beautifully with the spicy sauce and vegetables. In my opinion, shrimp pair wonderfully with all spicy sauces.
A few days ago at the hospital, the aroma of fried shrimp polluted my nose and I was thrown back into my former days of fast food dining. Anyone recall Long John Silvers? The restaurant chain is still in existence but it’s locations are very very sparse now a days. Popeye’s seems to be the fried shrimp king around these parts; Red Lobster is the more classier carrier of fried shrimp. I like Red Lobster a lot because they catered to me when I informed them I suffered from Celiac’s disease. The manager came out with an ingredients listing of all their spice mixtures and explained to me what didn’t include gluten. I felt safe eating out again all thanks to him. Still, it’s rare that I do. Why? Where can I go, at the moment, besides Whole Foods for dinner that doesn’t put me at risk? Hmm..maybe I’ll treat myself one day.
Back to the recipe, the dish is pure effort-lacking. The longest part of the entire meal is the prep work and cooking rice if you don’t own a rice cooker. I served it with steamed ginger broccoli but you can substitute that with any vegetable of choice or just have the meal on its own maybe with a first source of delicate egg drop soup - in cooler weather of course. When the outcome of homemade Chinese recipes, such as this, are incredibly delicious, you honestly don’t want to order take out again. It’s a lot healthier too because you can control the amount of oil and the sodium content as well.
So bring honor to us all by preparing your own Chinese feast as opposed to picking up a phone and dialing your local takeout facility.
8 Shrimp
6 dried mushrooms, soaked in water & halved
½ cup bean sprouts
2-3 scallions (depending on how much of these you like)
¼ of an onion, sliced thin
¼ of red pepper, sliced & coarsely chopped
1 tbsp fermented black beans
1 tbsp of Chili-garlic sauce
1 tbsp of garlic flakes, crushed
1 tbsp rice flour
1 packet of sugar substitute or 4 tsp of sugar, separated in half
Salt
½ cup mushroom stock or broth
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
Splash of rice wine vinegar
Combine half of the sugar packet, flour, and slat to taste in a bag and shake to combine. Add the shrimp, shake until the shrimp becomes coated then set aside.
In a small dish, crush the black beans until they appear mushy and pasty. To this mush you then add the chili-garlic sauce with the remaining sugar. Stir until well combined then set this aside.
In a wok or nonstick pan, spray lightly with oil. Add the combined paste with garlic and fry until fragrant. Next add the mushrooms and fry, followed by the shrimp. As the coating thickens the liquid, thin it slight with water then hit it with a splash of rice wine vinegar. Now its time to add your onion, scallions, and pepper with the soy sauce and wine. Once the shrimp turn pink, it’s done.
Turn off the heat and stir in the bean sprouts. Serve with rice and another side, such as a steamed vegetable or vegetable stir-fry.
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