Ingredients:

1 lb. of flank or sirloin steak thinly sliced
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 cup beef stock
1 tsp. corn starch
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. grated ginger root
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, julienned
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 cup water

Combine hoisin sauce, beef stock, corn starch, vinegar and soy sauce. Divide and use 1/2 to evenly coat the beef. Let it set for a few minutes while 1/2 of the oil heats in the wok. Stir fry the beef about 2 minutes until the outside is brown, then move to a plate and keep warm. Add ginger, garlic and remaining oil to wok, and stir fry for one minute. Reduce heat, then add carrots and water. Steam for 4 minutes. Return meat and remaining sauce to wok and cook for about 2 minutes until thickened. Add sesame seeds and onions. Serve over noodles or steamed white rice.

However, the one dish that comes to mind when considering Canada is poutine. Originally a recipe found in rural Quebec in the 1950′s, poutine can be found everywhere in Canada from family style restaurants to fast-food chains and even on the side of the road in chip wagons – think hot dog carts for fries.

This traditional Canadian dish of french fries covered in cheese curds and beef gravy or a similar type of sauce is so widely renowned all over Canada that it even has it’s own entry in the historical dictionary of Quebec. Here, poutine is defined as “fries with cheese and gravy” and has been the accepted definition since 1978. While credit for the invention of poutine definitely goes to Quebec, the recipe has spread quickly throughout the country and can even be seen trickling down to the United States.

You’ll need:
5 potatoes cut into french fries
1 jar of beef gravy
2 cups of cheese curds (substitute cottage cheese if curds aren’t available in your area)
1 quart of cooking oil

Heat the oil in your deep fat fryer – or in a medium sized sauce pan if you don’t own a fryer – to about 370 degrees. Place the potatoes in the the oil and fry until they’re a light brown – about five minutes or so. While all that is going on, you can be heating up your gravy. Remove the potatoes and let them drain on a wire rack with paper towels underneath. Put them on a plate, top with the curds and gravy and serve immediately.

Tip: Let your curds or cottage cheese come to room temperature before adding them so they don’t make your fries cold.

Along the Atlantic Coast seafood and English foods are prevalent. French cuisine is prevalent in Quebec, while Maple products are found throughout Canada.

The Quebec Poutine , found in the area of its name, is made of French fries, cheese curds and chicken gravy, melted together. Pate Chinois, a French Canadian Chinese Dish, which is known better as Sheppard-s pie, consists of mashed potatoes, corn and ground beef.

Flipper Pie is a traditional Newfoundland meal. Made from seal flippers, turnips and carrots, topped with a crust.

A popular breakfast meal is called Canadian Bacon Strata. As the name suggests, one of the ingredients is Canadian bacon, however, the east coast of Canada is known to have used lobster or crab in place of the bacon. Although this meal takes about an hour and a half to cook, it will keep you filled for the morning.

Canadian cuisine covers many unique dishes, Sauteed Fiddleheads, Nanaimo Bars (3 layers), Fish and Brewis, Spot Prawns, Reindeer Steak, and to finish off the meal, a Northern Ontario Canadian Butter Tart.