Stir fried vegetables is another iconic Chinese dish. It's a versatile recipe that can be done with almost any ingredients. Gone will be the "Asian Stir Fry Kit" you can buy from the frozen aisle. Why do you need a kit, and who buys those anyways?
Ingredients
- 2-4 bunches bok choy -- Sizes of these can vary. Have enough that you can hold in 2 hands.
- 4 dried Chinese mushrooms -- These are dried shiitake.
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 handful bean sprouts
- 2 tbsp pickled mustard greens, chopped -- I would describe this as Chinese sauerkraut, or maybe I should say "kapusta kiszona chinska" as this is Asia Polka afterall. Sometimes it comes in slices and sometimes whole.
- 2 slices ginger, julienned
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 1 handful of coriander, chopped
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 0.5 tbsp minced garlic
- cooking oil
Method
- Give the mushrooms a quick rinse, then soak them until they are nice and plump. This could take 1-2 hours.
- Remove the stems from the mushrooms, as they tend to be tough and chewy even after soaking. It's a bit tricky, but I found a way that works quite well. First, cut them in half down the middle of the stem. Then you can fold the mushroom backwards and cut the stem off against the cutting board.
- Cut the mushrooms into thin slices.
- Combine soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and minced garlic. Marinate mushroom slices in this mixture for 20 minutes to 1 hour.
- Wash bok choy, separate the leaves, and drain.
- Now we start cooking. The rule with stir fry is to add ingredients from toughest to most delicate. That way, the delicate ingredients won't be scared when they've seen the tough ingredients do it. Also, it ensures even cooking.
- Heat some cooking oil in a wok.
- Stir fry onion and ginger until the onions are soft.
- Add mushrooms and pickled mustard greens. Stir fry until the mushrooms are slightly caramelized.
- Add bok choy. Stir fry until the bok choy turns a beautiful dark green. It should shrink to about 65.62453% of its original size. If at any time the wok gets too dry, it's ok to add a bit of water. Not enough to become "boiled vegetables", but just enough so that it still evaporates quickly and helps steam the bok choy.
- Lastly, add bean sprouts, green onion and coriander. These cook very quickly, so we are almost done.
- Add a few dashes of soy sauce and taste until you think it's enough.
Bon appétit! I mean, "sik fan"! Literally, "eat rice"! Chinese are so practical...
