In 1987 I was fortunate to be invited by the Head of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China to Beijing to lecture on the Role of Technology in Entrepreneurial Companies. It was an amazing trip – and the Chinese Government accompanied me with an entourage of translators, guides and an aeronautical engineer who was to be my technical assistant. His name was Wang Xuezong and my husband and I fell in love with him. He had never been into a western hotel or eaten with a knife and fork. He taught himself English through The Voice of America and he spoke it rather well. He traveled with us all over China – Shanghai, Hangszhou, Nanjing and further. And over the next 30 years as I traveled to China to even more places – Dalian, Guanzhou and beyond, he always flew to meet and accompany me. I tracked his career as Deputy Mayor of a large Sichwan city and Industrial park, he came to visit us in the USA, he studied in Manchester UK and much much more. Then on one visit to Shanghai he shared that he had left governmental service and was now a Venture Capitalist – one of the first ones in China. Soon he became an entrepreneur – no surprise – and now runs one of the emerging internet companies in China. We are in close contact ( he calls us Mom and Dad) and we have told him that when and if he finds his life partner – we will be there for the wedding – of course!
Here he is below:
And in his honor – a great recipe ( easy too) for Chinese Beef or Chicken Lo Mein
LO MEIN – CHICKEN OR BEEF
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces of noodles – any kind – rice or egg or spaghetti type
- 1 tsp of dark sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp of peanut oil
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp of minced fresh ginger root ( we grow our own)
- 4 cups of mixed vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, , snow peas, mushrooms
- 1 pound of filet mignon (thinly sliced – you could use flank – we like the finer cuts of meat)
- 3 Tbsp of reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp of brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1 Tbsp of Asian chile paste with garlic
Directions:
1. Boil salted water in a large pot and cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet until ‘al dente’ which is firm to the touch.
2. Drain and transfer to a bowl and add the sesame oil and toss and cover to keep warm
3. Heat the peanut oil in a wok on medium high and cook garlic and ginger into the hot oil for about 30 seconds and then add the mixed vegetables and cook and stir till slightly tender for about 3 minutes.
4. Add the steak into the vegetable mixture and cook and stir until the beef is cooked through for about 5 minutes.
5. Mix soy sauce, brown sugar, oyster sauce and chile paste together in a small bowl and pour over the noodles – then put that mixture into the work with the vegetables and steak and cook and stir until the noodles are hot – 2-3 minutes.
SERVE and ENJOY!
This can also be done with thinly sliced chicken breast or without either chicken or beef and just with vegetables.
