Vegetable Stir Fry

The Bearded One requested a Vegetable Stir Fry for dinner tonight.  We needed to do some grocery shopping anyway so we ventured into the ‘big city’ to do the shopping since shopping for produce at small town markets outside of summer is risky and expensive.

We got a full complement of groceries.  I must note that life is becoming more expensive.  Even though I am conscious of prices as I shop and we are not buying meat, our weekly grocery bill is growing steadily.  Sigh.

The good news is that I tried a new Thai Vegetable Stir Fry recipe and it was great.

I modified the recipe a bit to use asparagus from the garden and a few other vegetables from the refrigerator.  It was wonderful and to be repeated man times.

THAI VEGETABLE STIR FRY

• 1 medium-size carrot, sliced
• 1-2 cups baby bok choy, or other Chinese cabbage (leaves left whole if not too large, otherwise cut in half or thirds)
• 1 red pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
• 5-6 shiitake mushrooms, sliced, or left in halves or quarters
• 3 spring onions, cut in thirds
• 1 small head broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 thumb-size piece of galangal (or ginger), sliced thinly (matchstick-like pieces)
• 3 Tbsp. white wine or sherry (or cooking wine or sherry)
• optional: handful dry-roasted unsalted cashews
• STIR-FRY SAUCE:
• 1/3 cup good-tasting stock (vegetarian or chicken stock)
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce (or substitute 2.5 Tbsp. soy sauce)
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 5-7 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. liquid honey (or substitute brown sugar), plus more to taste
• 2 tsp. corn starch dissolved in 4 Tbsp. water
• 1 red chili, minced, OR 1 tsp. chili sauce, OR 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preparation:

1. Start by making the stir-fry sauce. Place all ingredients – except garlic and cornstarch – in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.
2. When sauce begins to bubble, reduce heat to medium-low. Now add the minced garlic and cornstarch (dissolved in water). Stir until the sauce thickens slightly – about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
3. Do a taste test. You’re looking for a balance of salty (fish sauce), spicy (garlic and chili), sour (lime), and sweet (sugar). Adjust these flavors to suit your taste.
4. Place a little oil in a wok/frying pan over medium to high heat. Add the carrots, galangal (or ginger), and shiitake mushrooms. When the wok/pan becomes dry, add a little of the wine or sherry, 1 Tbsp. at a time, to keep ingredients frying nicely. Stir-fry in this way, adding more wine or sherry as needed, for 2-3 minutes, or until carrots start to soften.
5. Add the rest of the vegetables plus 1/3 of the stir-fry sauce and continue stir-frying another 2 minutes, or until the broccoli has softened but still retains some of its crispness.
6. Add remaining stir-fry sauce (plus cashews, if using) and mix in until everything is hot. Remove from heat.
7. Do one last taste-test. If not salty enough, add up to 1 Tbsp. more fish or soy sauce. If too salty, add another squeeze of lime juice. Add a little more sugar or honey if desired. Serve immediately with plenty of Thai jasmine-scented rice, and ENJOY!

I burnished the painting of Noah a bit tonight.  No further coloring of new space, just touching up the face and eyes.  Tomorrow, I will take Noah to class and see what happens.

Just to remind you, the reference photo...

Tonight, after burnishing and touchup

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