It’s entirely possible that, somewhere among the now remaining 30 of the 32 recipes 27 Forum cooks have sent along, there really was/is THE original recipe for that mind-bogglingly popular dish called African chow mein.
It’s entirely impossible, though, to determine just which of all those recipes it might actually have been/might be. Because, you see, no two (let alone three or four) are identical, not to mention even a very close match.
No, folks, this is one of those recipe happenings that apparently really, really lent itself to personal ingredient/taste adjustments. One of those dishes where the cook decided it would be better with more or less of this or that, improved with the addition or omission of such and such, and so forth and so on.
Some recipes have two soups, some have one; some have bean sprouts, some have none. Most call for regular rice, but a few specify the fast-cook kind, and the amounts run the gamut from 1/2 cup uncooked to 3 cups cooked. How much onion varies from 1/2 cup chopped to 2 onions, diced, and the celery measurements, some chopped, some sliced, jump from a little to a lot.
You get the idea. Now you get today’s helping of contributor’s delicious comments and concoctions, in an old-style recipe format to feed you more choices faster. So eeny, meeny, miny, mo, here we go:
Everett cook Mary Samuels tells us, “This is regarding the request for a childhood casserole called African chow mein. When I was growing up, we had a recipe from my grandmother called hamburger oriental. When my mom worked swing shift, we would often come home from school to find this on warm in the oven in her big yellow Pyrex bowl.
“I usually chop some water chestnuts and add to this for more texture, and I have also added mushrooms, if I have them on hand. I have also used ground turkey for this recipe, and I suppose you could substitute ground chicken also.”
HAMBURGER ORIENTAL
Brown 1 pound hamburger, 1 cup chopped celery and 1 cup chopped onions in 2 tablespoons butter. Brown 1/2 cup raw rice in 1 tablespoon butter. In a large, ovenproof bowl or casserole, combine 1 can cream of celery soup, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1/4 cup soy sauce and 11/2 cups water; stir until smooth. Fold in 1 can bean sprouts, hamburger mixture and rice; mix thoroughly, cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 minutes, then sprinkle top to taste with part of a bag of crisp chow mein noodles and bake another 5 minutes. Serve dish over remaining noodles.
Judy Gish of Marysville says, “My mother-in-law, the late Dorothy Gish, had a favorite recipe that was similar to the one Jeanette Huntsman describes as African chow mein. Her name for it was Chinese foo foo, and she contributed it to a published collection of recipes from Tulare Beach in 1996. Jeanette mentioned bean sprouts as an ingredient — though this recipe doesn’t include them, I see no reason why they couldn’t be added.”
CHINESE FOO FOO
Brown 1 pound ground beef and 1 minced onion; add salt and pepper to taste. Mix together with 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can chicken with rice soup, 1 cup chopped celery, 1 cup crisp chow mein noodles and 2 tablespoons soy sauce; turn into a casserole dish, top with crushed potato chips and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.
Monroe cook Ruby Neilson writes, “This may be the recipe Jeanette Huntsman of Camano Island was looking for. I call it Seabeck rice because we were served this at the Seabeck Conference Grounds over on Hood Canal probably 40 years ago.
“Many of us enjoyed it so much, we asked for the recipe. I imagine it would also be very tasty made with chicken or leftover turkey, as her friend remembers it.”
SEABECK RICE
Brown 1 pound hamburger with 1 cup chopped celery and 1/2 cup chopped onion; add 3 cups cooked rice, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1/4 cup soy sauce and 1 can bean sprouts. Turn mixture into casserole and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
The Forum is always happy to receive your contributions and requests, so don’t hesitate to send them to Judyrae Kruse at the Forum, c/o The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.
Please remember that all letters and e-mail must include a name, complete address with ZIP code and telephone number with area code. No exceptions and sorry, but no response to e-mail by return e-mail; send to kruse@heraldnet.com.
The next Forum will appear in Wednesday’s Good Life section.
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