Been returning to my culinary "roots" so to speak. I pulled out a couple of great little cookbooks that I got years ago when I was first getting into Oriental cooking. These are those little recipe card like books with spiral bindings that you see here and there in Asian markets and the like. I'd forgotten how good these recipes are since collecting larger and flashier cookbooks, but these are some of the recipes that convinced me that I really did want to become proficient at Chinese cooking. They are simple, authentic and very tasty! This first one calls for beef, but the other night I substituted pork for the beef and the result was excellent. The finished dish is rich, as hot as you like it and slightly sweet. The only "exotic" ingredient is the "soy beans with chili condiment" and it's not too exotic these days. (Sorry, Jeff++no dried duck webs here!) Any market with a good Oriental section should have it. The stuff I use is put out in 8 oz. bottles by Lan Chi and is called "Chilli Paste with Soy Bean". It's quite hot and has a wonderful, slightly "smoky" flavor. (I'm copying these recipes out verbatim to capture the flavor of the book.) This blend of flavors will remind you of hot dishes from other parts of the world. This chili flavor combine [sic] is entirely different from the chili used in Mexican dishes, for instance

1. Mix gravy ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Heat wok on high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Slosh around. Add vegetables and stir-fry until half done about 2 minutes. Remove to platter.

3. Clean wok. Reheat over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Slosh around. Add beef, garlic and ginger. Toss-fry for about 3 minutes and when meat is pinkish add gravy ingredients. Stir-fry another minute or so until thickened. Add precooked vegetables. Toss-fry another minute to blend and heat through.