Beef, Cookies, Frosting

DEAR SOS: Can you get Yung Hwa restaurant to share the recipe for tangerine beef? I’d give anything to reproduce it at home.

--CHARLES

DEAR CHARLES: The folks at Yung Hwa informed us that the restaurant is now called China Panda but the recipe is the same. Here it is.

CHINA PANDA TANGERINE BEEF

1 pound flank steak or other lean beef

Salt, pepper

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup cornstarch

3 tablespoons oil

4 dried chiles

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

5 small pieces dried tangerine or orange peel

Seasoning Sauce

Slice beef paper-thin into 1/2-inch slices across grain and trim pieces about 1-inch long. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Dip into egg, then coat lightly with cornstarch. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in wok. Drop beef into hot oil to brown quickly. Remove from wok. Set aside to keep warm.

Add 2 tablespoons oil to wok. Add chiles, green onions and orange peel. Saute over high heat a few seconds. Pour Seasoning Sauce all at once into wok. Return beef mixture to wok. Mix well to heat thoroughly and quickly. Discard ginger from Seasoning Sauce. Makes 2 to 4 servings.

Seasoning Sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon vinegar

1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce

1/2 tablespoon mushroom soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons catsup

3 (1/2-inch) pieces ginger root

Combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, mushroom soy sauce, catsup and ginger in small bowl. Makes about 1/2 cup.

DEAR SOS: I would truly appreciate the recipe for Chinese Almond Cookies. It has been my best Christmastime cookie ever for the past 15 years and now I’ve lost the recipe.

--EDITH

DEAR EDITH: We love these cookies, too. I hope it is the recipe you’re looking for.

CHINESE ALMOND COOKIES

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1/2 pound lard

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Blanched whole almonds

1 or 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

Sift flour with baking soda and baking powder. Beat egg and lard together. Add sugars and almond extract. Gradually mix in dry ingredients until well blended.

For each cookie, shape 1 tablespoon dough into ball. Place on ungreased baking sheets and press 1 almond in middle of each. Brush with beaten egg yolk and bake at 350 degrees 15 to 20 minutes.

DEAR SOS: In a recent column a reader named Elizabeth requested a formula for bakery-type frosting. You suggested Posie Cream, which I feel would be too gritty and greasy. There is a better recipe that appeared in The Times long ago and which I have used consistently for my cottage industry baking.

--MARY

DEAR MARY: You should know. Thanks.

BAKERY-TYPE CREAMY FROSTING

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup margarine

1/4 cup shortening

Dash salt

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix flour with milk in small saucepan. Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Cool. Cream sugar and margarine with shortening until fluffy. Add salt and cold flour-milk paste and beat until doubled. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla. Makes about 1 cup.