My Seventies Kitchen Episode 10: Mongolian Beef

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Before we get started, I think it’s important to note that Mongolian Beef is not a dish from Mongolia. Instead, it’s a Taiwanese classic that is akin to Szechuan Beef, just much less spicy. At the end of the day, the specifics or the origin are unimportant. It’s probably been Americanized to death at this point anyway – all we really care about is the fact that it’s quick and delicious.

I don’t know about you, but the pandemic has definitely affected my level of ambition in the kitchen. Sure, I still get involved in big cooking projects. It’s just a lot harder to psych myself up to start them. I go to the store, buy all of the ingredients, and then end up ordering Pat’s Pizza more than I care to admit. Sometimes I just give a shit WAY more early in the day, before it’s actually time to cook.

This dish is an excellent remedy for this lack of motivation. All you need to do is get the Beef into the marinade, and you can chill for a while. When you are ready, all you need to do is toss some rice in the cooker. Then hack up an onion and some scallions (I like to have ginger/garlic puree on hand for nights like this. I usually pick it up in a jar at the Indian market). Fire up the wok, sizzle up some beef, serve over rice, and good to go. I like flank, skirt, or even hangar steak here – but you can obviously improvise. You can even sub in Chicken if you’re really feeling like letting it all hang-out and flying your freak flag.

If you have a real stove with real fire, I hate you, and I’m jealous. Also, this will come out much better for you than we ghetto electric stove people.

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My Seventies Kitchen Episode 9: Rigatoni And Meatballs

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When I was young, every week’s highlight was Sunday lunch at my grandparents’ house, whom we referred to affectionately as Mimi and Papa. It was always Mimi’s red sauce with meatballs, Botto’s Bakery Italian bread, and a range of pasta from rigatoni to manicotti. Seriously, this was EVERYTHING to me. When I first desired to learn how to cook, I think I was 15; Mimi was the first person I consulted to learn how to replicate this meal. She had taught my mother, which was nice because I didn’t always have to wait for Sunday, but I wanted to create my own version.

As it turned out, she presented an entirely different version than the one she taught my mom, which we realized way after her passing. My version had onions. My mothers didn’t. I was told to bake the meatballs before putting them in the sauce. In contrast, she instructed my mother to sauté them. Lastly, the recipe she presented me with omitted tomato paste, and you probably know the rest.

Anyway, I began honing the method around 18, starting with sautéing the meatballs in butter with onions, transferring the entire contents of the pan into the sauce. It immediately took it up several notches. Mimi would soak the Italian bread in water, and I tried buttermilk – which I did for a while before realizing it wasn’t really making any difference. Eventually, I began incorporating breadcrumbs and parsley, also subbing granulated garlic and adding fresh garlic to the sauce. Lastly, and most importantly, I switched brands of tomatoes from Hunts to Cento and incorporated pork into the mix. Then I started adding miso, which would probably make Mimi roll over in her grave, but you know what? It’s delicious.

This is the current incarnation of what I consider to be the ultimate comfort food. As stated earlier, you can use any pasta you want, whatever you’re in the mood for. You can use it for lasagna, both with bechamel or ricotta. As I state in the episode, the pasta almost kind of gets in the way, and I’m delighted with a bowl of meatballs and sauce alongside a few slices of Italian bread. Also, don’t forget meatball sandwiches, goddamn it!

I really hope you enjoy this.

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