Servings: 4 (smallish)

1 pound ground beef 1 pound ground beef
½ teaspoon Five Spice Powder (start with this small amount, you can add more later if needed) ½ teaspoon Five Spice Powder (start with this small amount, you can add more later if needed)
Pinch of salt Pinch of salt
2 green onions, whites and greens separated 2 green onions, whites and greens separated
½ of a medium green pepper, chopped large (you can certainly use red pepper for some color) ½ of a medium green pepper, chopped large (you can certainly use red pepper for some color)
4 stalks celery, chopped in fairly large pieces 4 stalks celery, chopped in fairly large pieces
1 cup sliced mushrooms (eyeball it, I just used up an old container that was about half full) 1 cup sliced mushrooms (eyeball it, I just used up an old container that was about half full)
3 cups beef broth (I used Penzey's bullion and water) 3 cups beef broth (I used Penzey's bullion and water)
As needed: soy sauce (or Green Mountain sauce), Shaoxing (Chinese Wine), sesame oil. As needed: soy sauce (or Green Mountain sauce), Shaoxing (Chinese Wine), sesame oil.
2 tablespoons cornstarch 2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons water
Cooked white rice Cooked white rice
Crispy chow mein noodles Crispy chow mein noodles

Wash and chop all the veggies, make the beef broth.
Add ground beef to a large saucepan on high heat. You don't need any oil, it will render enough fat to not stick to the pan. Break up the meat into really small pieces. Once it's all uniform, sprinkle the Five Spice Powder and a little salt on the meat.
Continue to cook until meat is almost done. Add the mushrooms and cook until the water comes out and starts to evaporate.
Add the celery and pepper and cook until they get a little charred and start to soften.
Add the beef broth and stir.
Taste and add little bits of the following as needed: soy sauce (or Green Mountain sauce), Shaoxing (Chinese Wine), sesame oil. I used about a tablespoon each of the sauce and the wine and just a few drops of the oil.
Let it simmer for awhile to get the taste right.
Make the cornstarch slurry (equal parts cornstarch and water) and when it's bubbling pour the slurry into the pot and stir until it's thick. Let cook untl it's the thickness tou want it.
Serve with white rice and crispy chow mein noodles.