Prep raw, Eat Fresh: Monday Meal Recipes
Monday's menu: Tomato Beef · Garlic Napa Cabbage · Corn Pork Meatball Soup Tomato Beef with Enoki mushrooms 番茄牛肉 | ⏱ Prep: 15 min | 🍽 Serves: 4...
Monday's menu: Tomato Beef · Garlic Napa Cabbage · Corn Pork Meatball Soup
Tomato Beef with Enoki mushrooms 番茄牛肉 | ⏱ Prep: 15 min | 🍽 Serves: 4
Steam from fresh: 15–20 minutes | Steam from frozen: 30 minutes
This is one of the most beloved home-cooked dishes in all of China. The tomatoes sit on the bottom of the container and steam upward, basting the beef from below and creating a natural sauce. You do not need to add anything else. It is Chinese mom physics.
INGREDIENTS
• 1 lb (450g) flank steak or beef sirloin (牛肉 1磅), sliced very thin
• 2–3 medium tomatoes (番茄 2-3个), cut into wedges
• 1 bag enoki mushrooms (金针菇 1包), roots trimmed
• 2 tablespoons scallion-ginger water (葱姜水 2汤匙, from Foundation 1)
• 1½ tablespoons soy sauce (生抽 1.5汤匙)
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce (蚝油 1汤匙)
• 1 teaspoon sugar (白糖 1茶匙)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (淀粉 1茶匙)
• 1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil (食用油 1汤匙)
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper (白胡椒 少许)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Slice beef very thin — partially freezing it for 20 minutes makes this easier
2. Combine scallion-ginger water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, cornstarch, oil, and white pepper in a bowl
3. Add beef and toss until every slice is coated and glossy. Let marinate 20 minutes.
4. In your freezer container, layer tomato wedges on the bottom, then enoki mushrooms
5. Lay the marinated beef slices on top in an even layer
6. Seal and freeze — or cook immediately
7. To cook from frozen: place container directly into steamer, steam on high for 30 minutes
8. To cook fresh: steam 15–20 minutes
Chinese Mom Tip: Tomatoes must go on the bottom, beef on top — always. As the tomatoes steam, their juice rises and bastes the beef from below. This is what creates the sauce without you doing anything.
Garlic Napa Cabbage with Glass Noodles 蒜蓉娃娃菜 | ⏱ Prep: 10 min | 🍽 Serves: 4
Steam from fresh: 10 minutes | Steam from frozen: 12 minutes
Simple, fast, and endlessly satisfying. The glass noodles absorb the garlic sauce during steaming and become silky and flavorful. This dish takes about five minutes to assemble and gets better the longer it steams.
INGREDIENTS
• 1 small head napa cabbage (娃娃菜 1颗), leaves separated and cut into pieces
• 1 bundle glass noodles (粉丝 1把), soaked in cold water until soft
• 3–4 generous tablespoons garlic sauce (蒜蓉酱 3-4汤匙, from Foundation 2)
INSTRUCTIONS
9. Soak glass noodles in cold water until fully soft, about 15 minutes
10. Drain noodles VERY thoroughly — shake out as much water as possible. Excess water makes them freeze into one solid block.
11. Layer drained noodles on the bottom of your container
12. Add napa cabbage pieces on top
13. Spoon garlic sauce generously over everything
14. Seal. To freeze: freeze as is. To refrigerate: keeps 2–3 days.
15. To cook from frozen: steam 12 minutes on high
16. To cook fresh: steam 10 minutes
Chinese Mom Tip: Drain those noodles like your dinner depends on it — because it does. Wet noodles freeze into an impossible solid block. After draining, pat with a paper towel and let them air dry for a few minutes before assembling.
Corn Pork Ball Soup 玉米丸子汤 | ⏱ Prep: 10 min | 🍽 Serves: 4
Steam from fresh: 20 minutes | Steam from frozen: 30 minutes
This soup is one of the most satisfying things to come home to on a Monday. The corn kernels get folded right into the pork before the balls are formed, so every bite has a little pop of sweetness. The corn naturally sweetens the broth as it steams — you barely need to season it at the end.
INGREDIENTS
• ¾ lb (340g) master marinated ground pork (腌肉沫 340克, from Foundation 3)
• 1 cup corn kernels (玉米粒 1杯) — fresh from the cob or frozen
• 2–2½ cups chicken stock or water (鸡汤或水, added at cook time)
• Salt to taste (盐 适量)
• 2 stalks scallion (葱 2根), sliced, for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
17. Take one portion of master marinated ground pork
18. Fold in corn kernels until evenly distributed through the meat
19. Roll into balls about the size of a ping pong ball — you should get about 8–10 balls
20. Arrange in a single layer in your container and freeze. Do NOT add broth yet.
21. To cook from frozen: place frozen container in steamer, add chicken stock or water
22. Steam on high for 30 minutes
23. Taste the broth, add salt if needed
24. Garnish with sliced scallion and serve immediately with rice
Chinese Mom Tip: The corn juice releases into the broth during steaming and naturally sweetens the soup. Taste before adding salt — you may find you need very little.