Country of Origin: China
Stir Fried Beef Noodles
Ingredients:
1 and ½ lbs of Flank Steak
1 and ½ lbs of Fresh Flat Rice Noodles (sliced)
1 and ½ lb of Bean Sprouts
½ of an Onion
3 stalks of Green Onion
Sauce for marinating:
1 spoon of Light Soy Sauce
½ spoon of Dark Soy Sauce
1 spoon of Oyster Sauce
Some Black Pepper
1 tablespoon of Cornstarch
1 tablespoon of Cooking Oil
Preparing Ingredients:
Cut flank steak to the thickness of 2 stacked coins
Roughly cut onion into slices
Chop green onion into thirds
Wash bean sprouts and thoroughly dry
Marinating:
In a bowl, combine flank steak with light and dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper + cornstarch
Rub in and mix well
Add cooking oil and rub again
Leave to rest for 10 minutes
Cooking:
Heat pan/wok on high until slightly smoking
Add cold cooking oil and coat the pan
Add beef, white ends of green onion, and onions and stir fry until beef is cooked ¾ through or there is browning (~2 minutes)
Remove and place to the side.
Rinse the pan and remove residue, reheat pan until smoking and add oil (steps 1-2)
Add noodles to pan and quickly stir fry until soft (~1.5 minutes)
Remove and Place to the side.
Repeat step 5 and add green onion and bean sprouts. Stir fry quickly (~30 seconds)
Add in beef onion mixture from earlier and continue to stir fry to complete cooking (~30 seconds)
Add in noodles until cooked through and mix everything evenly
Plate and serve
Between the shouting, arguing, and violence in my house, there was only one thing that was always comforting, that being my mom’s delicious cooking. The aromas that she spread throughout my home filled me with a sort of inner warmth and joy that I didn’t feel very often.
Before actually cooking the meal, I would watch my mom mix light soy, dark soy, and oyster sauces with cornstarch and cooking oil, combining them into a savory sauce to marinate the steak. Even when preparing the ingredients like chopping the green onion and cutting the flank steak, my father would sometimes come into the kitchen and berate my mother for something that she didn’t do. I felt powerless as I watched her suffer from these verbal attacks and an inner anger boiled within me. Despite these feelings, there was nothing that could’ve been done, as my mother always told me “you must respect your elders” even if I saw them shouting at each other like it was a war-zone. Even if I had tried, I would be put back in my role as child, bystander, and tool.
Despite this verbal assault on my mothers mental health, she would heat the pan and fry the beef and green onions, quietly cooking while keeping her sorrow to herself, a burden which none should bear. She pushed on through this daily torment for years and deep inside, my mother knew she was on the verge of collapse but pushed on for me and my sister, a fact that I hadn’t noticed for years as I hid from my problems in my cold and solitary room.
My mother continued to cook as she replaced the meat and onions in the pan with noodles as she knew that she had to finish dinner and only then could she take a breather from my father’s booming voice. With intense beads of sweat on her forehead, my mother dialed up the heat and mixed the noodles, beef, and onions. A wonderful smell wafted from the kitchen in stark contrast to the event that unfolded before me.
There was a point in my life where these meals would distract me from the true darkness and grittiness of life, but I refuse to return to the ignorance and weakness I once embraced and I will not forget these tragedies and the truths they brought to light.