Variations on a chow mein theme
Published 12:58 pm Friday, May 15, 2009
As we’ve come to learn over the past few months, Camano Island cook Jeanette Huntsman’s request for African chow mein has brought us heaps of recipes for this incredibly popular dish, with almost as many different names as variations.
So, picking up where we left off with this project, today we hear from Diane Wilson of Monroe, in a letter dated Nov. 11, 2008.
“I have been enjoying your column in The Herald for several months. Your readers have great questions and recipes.
“A couple of weeks ago, you ran several recipes for an Asian-style casserole. They all sounded great. Well, I was looking for a favorite crab casserole (crab Giovanni), which I knew was in an old 1965 edition of ‘Sunset Casserole Book,’ which cost $1.95.
“Guess what I found on page 9? A recipe called Chinese-style hamburger hash! Here it is.”
You’ll notice the recipe calls for two tablespoons of salad oil or shortening, and Diane says, “In this day and age, I can’t imagine using so much oil, much less shortening, but the recipe sounded a lot like those that were printed in the Forum.”
Before we get to Diane’s recipe, though, longtime Forum helper-outer Jean Kroeze of Arlington passes along another version that’s taken from the “Mount Wheeler Grange Cook Book.”
Jean says, “There’s also another oriental casserole in the same cookbook that I had submitted, only it doesn’t call for canned soup and has water chestnuts and mushrooms, but I have sometimes put bean sprouts or Chinese vegetables in.”
Chinese-style hamburger hash
1pound ground beef
2tablespoons salad oil or shortening
2medium onions, chopped
1cup sliced celery
1can each cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup
11/2cups warm water
1/2cup uncooked rice
1/4cup soy sauce
1/4teaspoon pepper
Crisp chow mein noodles
Brown meat in oil until slightly crumbly. Add onions, celery, soups and warm water. Stir in rice, soy sauce and pepper. Turn into lightly greased casserole (about 2-quart size). Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes; remove cover and continue baking for 30 minutes longer. Cover with the chow mein noodles and continue baking for 15 minutes more.
Makes 8 servings.
Mount Wheeler Grange oriental casserole
11/2pounds hamburger
2tablespoons butter
1/2cup chopped onion
2cups diced celery
1cup raw rice
1can each cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup
2cups water
1/4cup soy sauce
1can bean sprouts or 1 can Chinese vegetables
Heat butter in a frying pan and brown beef; add all remaining ingredients and blend well. Pour into a 2-quart casserole and bake at 350 degrees 11/2 to 2 hours.
Cover casserole for all but the last 10 minutes of baking time.
Makes 6 servings.
The next Forum will appear in Wednesday’s Good Life section.
