Lone Mountain Wagyu Beef Jerkey     

It is bursting with flavor, and has just the right amount of chew balanced with melt-in-your-mouth quality. Raised humanely and naturally, for the good of the animals, the sanctity of the land, and the health of our customers. Never fed hormones or antibiotics.

Be prepared to swoon.

In honor of the Year of The Ram, and because my family likes it, I have been cooking more meals with an Asian flavor. I've never been that good an Asian cook, but I think I'm getting better. I made a Bok Choy Stir Fry the other night and managed to not burn the garlic.

My grandmother, a.k.a. Gam, was my Chinese Food Ambassador when I was a kid. She loved Chinese food but she rarely ordered take out. She usually made it herself. She had a collection of Chinese Cookbooks and old pages from Chinese cooking classes that she had taken over the years. When she passed away, I inherited them. (Okay. inherited might be a strong word. I packed them in a box with her wok, clay pot, bamboo steamer and chop sticks and got them to my house before my sister figured out what was happening. She got the purple water goblets. We're even.)

I have clear memories from my childhood of Gam, and her wok, and her super-long chopsticks that she always used-whether she was cooking Chinese or not. Because Gam taught my sister and me to cook with her chopsticks, I can eat at a Chinese restaurant without fear of looking like a fool...or worse, asking for a fork. (Gasp!)

In honor of the New Year and Gam's love of the cuisine, I give you Gam's recipe for Chicken Chow Mein from her cookbook called Chopsticks, Cleaver and Wok by Jennie Low. You can make this recipe with pan fried noodles (Hong Kong Style) or fresh cooked Chow Mein noodles. The crispy version is listed here but it's easy to swap for the softer version. (Just don't pan fry the noodles.) I have also listed Gam's notes from the pages so you can see her interpretation.