hello researchers~

this question is part of my quest for the perfect homemade chinese
beef jerky...

ok.  i have obtained a recipe from my friends mom (from mainland, near
shanghai). i need help, though.  i need to eat her jerky but i cant
bring myself to beg her to make me [some random friend of her
daughters and across the country to boot] bags of her delicious
concoction.  so i would like to make my own.  i could ask her
questions, but the answers havent been coming.  i think i will have to
try my more aggressive tactics when i see my buddy in person, but for
now i thought id ask here.

first, heres the recipe:

         Mama Mao's Jivin' Jerky

   I apologize that I cannot provide any definite measurements for the
   ingredients. It's just the way Mama Mao works ...

   Beef
   (cut = bottom round, ~10lbs)

   Mom puts it in a rice cooker to steam. Steam until the meat's just
   lightly pink when poked w/ a chopstick. Make sure all the drippings
   from the steaming process is captured and saved. You'll use it
later.

   Separate the beef from its juices. As the juice cools, the fats
will
   coagulate.  Spoon some of that off, but not all! Allow about half
   of the fat to stay with the juice.

   Allow beef to cool then place in freezer (this makes it easier for
   slicing). Night before, take the frozen beef out and place in
   refrigerator to thaw slowly. Next morning, slice the beef (1/8")
   with the grain (so that the strips will tear off easily when you
   bite, and also the slices will look prettier).

   Sauce
   (the following is for 1/2 the beef. make a separate batch for the
   second 1/2 -- don't just double the following ingredients and try
to
   combine all the beef in one batch.)

   In a heated wok (or a dutch oven), pour in ~2 cups of the beef
   drippings (include some of the oil). Add the following ingredients
   (amounts are estimates, based on Mama Mao's best recollection):

   6 Tbsp curry powder
   4 Tbsp red pepper flakes
   1 tsp MSG
   1 tsp salt
   4 Tbsp sugar
   1 Tbsp light soy sauce

   Stir and allow the sauce to boil and thicken. Turn the heat to
medium.
   Add half the beef slices, one piece at a time. Make sure the beef
   gets coated on both sides with the sauce. Then add another slice,
etc.
   Once the beef has been added, keep stirring until all the sauce has
   been absorbed/evaporated.

   Spread the beef out on a baking sheet. Try not to overlap the
slices.
   Bake at 325F for ~25 minutes each side. The duration really depends
   on your liking (and your oven!). If you like the beef to be
   harder/drier, try a longer time; shorter time for moister jerky.

ok. theres the recipe.

now for the questions.

i would like to get curry that has that chinese taste to it. chinese
curry powder if definitely on a class of its own. but i would like to
know what brand your mom uses.  my moms korean so whatever she uses is
korean style by default (even if it is japanese). i think chinese
curry has star anise flavor to it. anyway, does anybody have a
specific brand they can recommend? i have access to several chinese
supermarkets. pictures (from the web or scanned in) or descriptions
of chinese characters would be extremely helpful.

ditto for your moms favorite brand of "light" [has the character sheng
instead of lao] soy sauce.

ditto for your moms favorite brand of red pepper flakes.

thank you so much in advance!

I'd be a bit wary of eating MSG, in Australia (where I am) it's either
banned or it's illegal to put it in food without declaring it. It
seems not to be a good thing to put in your tummy!

Shananigans, MSG is used as a flavor-enhancer in food, and I
personally feel that it serves that purpose for me - I notice the
difference. However, I don't get headaches or other nasty symptoms
from consuming it. Some people do.

Chinese recipes historically have often had MSG as one of the
ingredients, but since it became known that MSG can cause problems for
some people, many businesses have made an effort to cut down or
eliminate its use (that's why chinese restaurant menus these days
frequently contain a statement such as "We never use MSG").

From WebMD's Food Allergy and Intolerances page:
"Another type of food intolerance is an adverse reaction to certain
products that are added to food to enhance taste, provide color, or
protect against the growth of microorganisms. Compounds that are most
frequently tied to adverse reactions that can be confused with food
allergy are yellow dye number 5, monosodium glutamate, and sulfites...
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer, and, when consumed in
large amounts, can cause flushing, sensations of warmth, headache,
facial pressure, chest pain, or feelings of detachment in some people.
These transient reactions occur rapidly after eating large amounts of
food to which MSG has been added."
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1680.50303

Since the US FDA's 1958 Food Additive Amendments to the Food, Drug and
Cosmetic Act had a "grandfather" provision for substances previously
used in food manufacturing, MSG has never really been properly
evaluated, and the FDA has therefore never had a reason to either
approve or ban it. So we just don't know enough to determine whether
MSG is bad for everyone, or like peanuts (see
https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=77880 ),
it's just really bad for some people who have sensitivity to it.
Apparently Australia is operating a little more on the cautious side
(probably not a bad thing).