So I spent a hectic few days in New York, and learned this recipe from Mom. I wanted to take her out someplace for a belated birthday dinner, but she didn't feel like going out. She really wanted to cook with me. I decided not to push for a restaurant if she wouldn't enjoy it, plus I took away a lesson for one of my favorite dishes.
And it was way better than a restaurant meal I'd had earlier in the week. My sister and I agreed
Bellini on Manhattan's Upper West Side was awfully underwhelming for Italian food. Dessert was another disappointment, at the famed
Magnolia bakery. My devil's food cupcake was all right but nothing exciting, and the frosting was just too sweet. The Crack Pie at
Momofuku's Milk Bar was good, if a bit on the too-sweet side, but it wasn't as addictive as its name would have you believe and I was disappointed after all the hype.
Ippudo with my friend Bao, who writes some dining pieces for The New York Times, was a real winner -- delicious pork buns and ramen noodles that are nothing like what you get in the cheap plastic packets. I also had some
mooncakes (
yue bing) with the
Mid-Autumn Festival not far away, and this
pandan version was not only flavorful but very pretty.
But back to the important stuff. This dish is often called Beef Chow Fun on restaurant menus, and the wide, flat rice noodles are called
sha he fen. They're only sold fresh, not dried, and sometimes they're already sliced and other times sold in a sheet. Look for them and the bean sprouts, which lend a nice crunch, at your Asian market or Chinatown.
And Mom says the Chinese restaurant secret to getting that beef so tender is a pinch of baking soda. Sounds weird, I know, but it works!
