Welcome back, Ladies and Gentlemen! On tonight's episode of Cooking with the Rev, we are going to make one of my favorite dishes: Pepper Steak with Onions, Steamed Dumplings, and Fried Wontons!

Before we get started, some words of caution. Cooking with oil is always dangerous. Cooking with oil in a truck is extra dangerous. If you are going to attempt to recreate any of tonight's dishes, please have a fire extinguisher handy, and be prepared to use it. If you have never dealt with setting your truck on fire, and the idea of that happening scares you, then close this thread and go to McDonald's. Buy a Big Mac.

Second word of caution. This is a messy meal to make. You are dealing with a lot of prep items, and stuff that likes to go everywhere, like flour and corn starch. Be prepared to clean up a mess. Have lots of wipes handy, and at least one roll of paper towels.

Third word of caution. Cooking with oil smells. A lot. Be prepared to have a funny smelling truck for a few days.

Okay, now that we have the disclaimers out of the way, let's get started! You are going to need a lot of ingredients. Here's what you'll need:

1 lb of thin cut beef
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 of a green pepper
1 white onion
2 tablespoons of dry sherry
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of stir fry sauce
Canola oil
Stir fry oil of your choice (I prefer grape seed oil)
1/3 lb of mild ground pork
Flour
1 bunch of green onions
2 tablespoons of Corn Starch
Water
Wonton Skins
Whipped cream cheese

Now that you have your ingredients, let's get rockin!

First off, let's start with the veggies. You want to keep the veggies fairly large. I like to cut them into 1" squares, or as close as I can get. If need be, I will pull out a tape measure to check:




Now that we have our veggies cut, let's move on to the meats. We'll start with the steak. You want to use a thin steak. Get one that is as thin as you can possibly get. It should look something like this:


We are going to cut up the steak into squares that resemble the same size as the veggies. The idea behind this is that the veggies are cheaper than the steak, but they have the same consistency.



Next, we'll cut up the chicken. If possible, cut the chicken as thin as you can, because it cooks easier that way.

Once you have your meats cut up, set them off to the side. It's time to start working on the steamed dumplings.

Take your 1/3 lb. of ground pork, and put it in a bowl. You then want to add a little less than 1 tablespoon of dry sherry. I recommend you fill out a bill of lading, so as to not get nailed by DOT for having alcohol in the truck:



(seriously, this stuff has half the alcohol content of mouthwash, and it tastes like crap. If you are gonna get plastered on this stuff, more power to you.)

Next, put in one tablespoon of soy sauce, one tablespoon of stir fry sauce, and one tablespoon of corn starch. Chop up your green onions, and throw those in as well.



You're probably going to have extra, so have a container to put it in.

For the dough, you want to put some flour into a bowl, and then add a little water. How much? That all depends upon how much flour you put in. You are trying to get to a good dry doughy consistency. It should be able to stay together once it is kneaded, but should not be sticky.



Keep kneading the dough - you can't knead it too much. The more "rubbery" you can make it, the better.

Next, we'll roll it out. Don't have a rolling pin in your truck? A can of green beans works as a good substitute!


Keep rolling it out, folding it over itself, until you get a nice thin slab of dough. The thinner you can make it, the better.


Cut it into a circle a bit bigger than the can, and set it aside. Repeat until you run out of dough.

Once you have your dough ready, it's time to fill those bastards! When making a good steamed dumpling, less tends to be more. If your dough is as thin as it should be, putting too much filling in will tear the dough.


Repeat until you run out of circles of dough.

Next, we're going to steam those dumplings! Don't have a steamer? A strainer works great!


Heat your water until it is steaming. At that point, put your strainer in the pot, and cover with your frying pan.



Let the water come to a boil, and check the dumplings every few minutes.


Once they are completely cooked (you'll be able to see the dough change consistency, and become much firmer), take them out and set them aside. We'll finish them later.

Now on to the stir fry!

Don't have a Wok? A frying pan will work, although not as well as a wok. Put some grape seed oil into the pan and let it heat up. I use grape seed oil because oils made from seeds and nuts have less flavor, and a higher smoke point. I'm not looking to get flavor from the oil, as the sauce takes care of that.



Once your oil is heated, throw in the green peppers. I always do the green peppers first, because they are tougher to cook than the onions.



Once you start getting brown spots on the peppers, carefully pull one out and check it to see if it is cooked. If it is crunchy, it isn't finished. If it is kind of springy, then it is perfect. Pull those out of the pan, and set aside.

Repeat with the onions. When finished, set aside.


Next we'll do the steak. Make sure you stir it occasionally, because the steak will stick to the pan. You'll also have to drain the steak at least once, but save the juices - we'll be using them later.

___________________

While the steak cooks, let's get started prepping the wontons. What the heck are wontons, you ask? They are basically a very thin dough (even thinner than the dumplings). They use the same type of dough in an egg roll. I prefer purchasing pre-made wonton skins as opposed to making them myself, because the premade ones tend to fry better.

Put a dollop of cream cheese onto the center of the wonton skin.


Fold up the sides of the wonton, and pinch in the middle.


Make as many as you like, but don't make extra. Fried wontons do not reheat well. They tend to get chewy. Once you have them all made, set them aside, and let's get back to the stir fry.

_____________________

The steak should be done by now, so remove it from the pan and set it aside. Next we'll do the chicken. I like to add chicken to my Pepper Steak stir fry for a little change in texture. Now chicken tends to really stick, so make sure to constantly stir it.


As it cooks, you should be able to cut into the side of the chicken with your spoon. When the insides are a nice white color, it is almost done.


Let it brown a bit longer, and while that is happening, we'll make the sauce for the stir fry.

Mix 1 tablespoon of dry sherry, 1 tablespoon of stir fry sauce, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of corn starch, and 4 tablespoons of water in a bowl. Mix thoroughly until the corn starch is dissolved entirely. Set aside.

Once the chicken is browned, take all your other cooked ingredients and put them in the pan with the chicken. Make a small pool in the pan for the juices to collect, and pour the sauce in. When the sauce starts boiling, you will notice it get thicker.


Remove the stir fry, and we'll get to work on the wontons.

_______________

Put about 1/2 inch of canola oil into the pan and let it heat up. Once it gets to an optimal frying temperature, put the wontons in the pan, turning them occasionally. You'll notice them starting to harden, and they will begin browning. If you have the patience, you can let them get to a nice golden brown, but if you're hungry, you can pull them sooner.



While your burner is still on, put your steamed dumplings in the oil, and let them fry for a few minutes, turning them once.

NOW IT'S TIME TO EAT!



This recipe will make enough stir fry for about 3 meals, so have a container handy to put the extra in.

Enjoy!



Total time to make: 1 hour - 1 1/2 hours. Total cost of ingredients used: Approx. $6.50

The food network needs to put you on TV with a program titled "Cooking With A Trucker" :wink:

Thats a Yankees hat turned backwards, right? :shock: or is it a French beret? ops:

No offense but your truck looks like it's covered in grease!!! How the hell do you clean everything after with no sink?