Stir-fried Beef and Crunchy Noodle Cake with Triple Happiness Beans!

From Shanghai artist Karl Bang. Interesting to note that all the "ethnic" women's faces he paints seem to have "white" women's features and the only thing dictating their ethnicity is the traditional clothes they are sporting. Though its a beautiful representation, it annoys La Diva that this broad looks about as Chinese as a Nagel! Click on the photo to see the other generica goddesses he paints.

Darlings! The ever-so-polite blogger and two-time culinary throw-down champ KARL had the honors of picking the ingredients for the latest throwdown:

BEEF and BEANS!

And I bet you thought instantly of hearty bowl of chili and beans, didn't you?

So did La Diva.

But being predictable is not really in Diva's chemical make-up so the other beef and bean combo that came instantly to my head was the Chinese dish of beef and black bean sauce! And since even THAT combo is predictable to La Diva, I mixed it up and served it all over a lovely, crunchy noodle cake!

The family that cooks together... argues a lot and gets fat! Actually, Iris is a hoot on this episode...poor Mr. Tsai! Like most husband's he doesn't catch a break! Click on the photo to get the crispy noodle cake recipe.

A few Saturdays back, La Diva was enjoying her PBS cooking shows and this time, Simply Ming was on. His schtick is using ingredients from East and West and this week's ingredients were soy sauce and olive oil. Ming had his parents on the show and Daddy Tsai was making this amazing noodle cake in a fry pan! Seeing as La Diva and DJ Nevah L8 just had recently greedily devoured a fried noodle cake at Hong Kong Noodle in North Miami, La Diva was eager to give it a shot!

I only used the noodle cake portion of the recipe and then made my own stir fry to top it. Noodle cake is suitable as the base for a number of yummy stir fry combos!

La Diva is quite skilled at flipping her omelets. However, this pan was large and heavy and after two tries and almost near disaster, I ended up using a second fry pan to help me flip over the cake without breaking it! Into the warm oven it went until I was ready to serve it.

La Diva's black bean sauce of choice as it's not super sweet like some other brands. I added some paste, water, freshly grated ginger and birds eye chile with corn starch to make the bean sauce.

I marinated the beef in soy sauce, fresh garlic and ginger, dry sherry and a bit of corn starch.

The "triple happiness" comes from the use of the bean in three ways: the black bean sauce, the bean sprouts and a handful of chopped green beans.

Included in the bean medley were baby bok choy, carrots, snow peas and shitake mushrooms. Always add the bean sprouts at the last minute to retain their fabulous crunch! Add the sauce last and let cook for another 30 seconds, allowing it to thicken.

Take the noodle cake out of the oven and put on serving platter.

Add the beef and black bean stir fry to the noodle cake and serve immediately!

Result: DANG! Crunchy, spicy goodness! I'm so happy to have tackled the noodle cake as I've had it before and love the crunchy texture for a change up from the regular stir fried noodle La Diva usually makes! I LOVE the beef with the black bean combo, such a hearty meal yet low fat and full of CRUNCH from both the crispy noodle and the fresh veggies!

Does confronting art disturb you? La Diva is simultaneously fascinated and repelled by the Gao Brother's "Miss Mao,'" and I'm sure they'd be happy to hear that their art evokes those responses. More creepy, kooky and thought-provoking art from the Gao brothers are reviewed by the NY Times. Click on image to see more!

Want to see what the other throw down participants made for the beef and bean challenge? Go on over to Karl's site to take a gander and then Moi will announce the winner! Ciao, darlings!

PS: Darlings, forgive me if I don't get to your blogs until Monday. Like anyone in hospitality or production here in Miami this week, DJ Nevah L8 and La Diva are as busy as blue-assed flies during SuperBowl! I'll be by on Monday to check y'all out....with a big cocktail and after some much-needed rest! Ciao, darlings, CIAO!