Tomato Beef Chow Mein

Don't sound so surprised... I can cook like the Chinese-American person I am;o) hahaha. (Yeah... I knew I couldn't say that with a straight face...) But well, since I was a kid... on the days that my dad was in charge of cooking and we would end up going to the chinese restaurant down the street and ordering some TBCM (Tomato Beef Chow Mein), I've come to think that this is a typical chinese dish--it isn't though... I've learned that it's more like a creation of the Chinese-American restaurants. My mom gave it a shot maybe once or twice... and I know when you make it at home, it never tastes the same as in the restaurant. But here's my second shot at it... and I thought it was pretty good.

Tomato Beef Chow Mein

1 package pan fried noodles (I used about 3/4 lb.)
1/2 lb. beef, sliced thin against the grain
2 tsp's soy sauce
2 tsp's cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1 onion, wedged
1 green bell pepper, wedged
1 large tomato, wedged
2 tbsp's olive oil
for more veggies:
consider adding sliced (thinly) celery, carrots, and/or mushrooms

Sauce ingredients:
1 cup water
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp's sugar

Boil noodles in water for 2 minutes, rinse and set aside.

Slice beef thinly across the grain. Combine beef with soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar.
In a separate bowl, combine sauce ingredients.

Heat the oil over medium heat. Spread the noodles over the bottom of the pan to fry until lightly brown, only turning once, remove noodles and set aside. Add more oil, fry the beef until done, remove and set aside. Add onions and peppers (and all other vegetables), stir fry a few seconds to break onion apart.

Add sauce mixture, stir until thickened. Add tomato and beef, stir gently to combine. Add the noodles and fluff gently with a fork to combine.

So like I said... this isn't AUTHENTIC Chinese--don't get it confused. But the recipe works--I think I've made it twice now and I was satisfied with the way that it turned out this time. The sauce didn't seem as tomato-y or salty like in the restaurant (for that, you may need to use a lil "magic dust", a.k.a MSG). Otherwise, this is a fun dish. Enjoy!