Thai Stir-fried Vegetables with Garlic, Ginger, and Lime
Ingredients:
VEGETABLES:
1 medium-size carrot, sliced
1 cup baby bok choy, or other Chinese cabbage (leaves left whole if not too large, otherwise cut in half or thirds)
1 small red pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small green pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
5 or more 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 ginger, sliced thinly (matchstick-like pieces)
STIR-FRY SAUCE:
1/4 cup broth (vegetable or veggie chicken-style broth)
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. lime juice
5-7 cloves of garlic, minced (depends upon how much you like garlic)
1 tsp. honey or brown sugar (or more to taste)
1 tsp. arrowroot powder (or corn starch) dissolved in 2 Tbsp. cool water
Optional: 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Optional: to make this into a main course, add peanuts or cashews, tofu, or wheat gluten
Preparation:
Start by making the stir-fry sauce. Place broth, soy sauce, lime, honey/sugar, and cayenne pepper (if using) in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.
When sauce begins to bubble, turn down the heat to medium-low. Now add the minced garlic and arrowroot/cornstarch (dissolved in water). Stir until the sauce thickens slightly - about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Do a taste test. You're looking for a balance of salty (soy sauce), spicy (garlic and chili), sour (lime), and sweet (sugar). Adjust these flavors to suit your taste.
Place a little oil in a wok/frying pan over medium to high heat. When hot, add the carrots, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms. (Stir-fry Tip:Always start with the "firmer" vegetables. Otherwise, the more tender veggies will grow soggy while waiting for the firmer ones to cook.)
When the wok/pan becomes too dry, add a little water, 1 Tbsp. at a time (you want to keep the wok/pan just moist enough to keep the vegetables frying). Stir-fry 1-2 minutes.
Add the rest of the vegetables, and continue stir-frying another minute or so (until the broccoli turns bright green). Again, add water as needed to keep the vegetables frying.
Now pour the stir-fry sauce you made earlier into the wok/pan. Stir-fry over heat briefly - just long enough to mix the sauce in. Remove from heat.
Do one last taste test. If not salty enough, add up to 1 Tbsp. more soy sauce. If too salty, add another squeeze of lime juice.
To serve, pour onto a serving platter and have plenty of Thai jasmine rice (brown or white) at the ready.
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Topic: Thai Stir-fried Vegetables with Garlic, Ginger, and Lime (Read 4325 times)
