Tag: peanut

Stir Fry

Weeknight Stir Fry

Two years ago I learned to make Pad Thai (the healthy, weeknight way). I was so thrilled with the simplicity and versatility of both the sauce and the base recipe that I quickly started customizing. Two years later we have weeknight stir fry, the meal that makes an appearance on my kitchen table at least twice every week. It is the perfect meal to unite all those errant vegetables from the CSA that are leftover in the fridge after a week of cooking. Read thoroughly below and let the contents of your fridge dictate your version of weeknight stir fry.

recipe

This recipe is like the Pirate Code of cooking. There are no mandatory ingredients. Only guidelines.

It is comprised of three parts: the base, the stir fry, and the garnish (plus the sauce, for which I recommend my tried-and-true Peanut Pad Thai Sauce). You’re going to layer your bowl in this fashion, starting with the base on the bottom, the stir fry on top, and finishing the dish with the garnish, as shown in the images below.

Base

+ Stir Fry

+ Garnish

Base. The base is going to provide the foundation for the meal. The culinary infrastructure on which the vegetables of your choosing will elegantly rest, drizzled with the tiniest bit of sauce. Options include:

brown rice, for a hearty, healthy meal
white rice, for a more commercial interpretation of ‘stir fry’
a bed of sautéed cabbage or wilted garlicky kale for a complete vegetable overload
raw, romaine lettuce for a super light lunch
note: when placing the base in the bottom of the bowl, drizzle with a bit of sauce for extra flavor

Stir Fry. The stir fry is the mixture of proteins and vegetables that you choose to make up the bulk of the dish. If using meat, cook it first in the pan before adding the vegetables incrementally. If using tofu or tempeh, you may want to cook those separately depending on how you usually like them. Stir Fry contents include:

chicken breast or thighs, cut into slices (or similar cuts of pork)
tempeh or tofu
green or savoy cabbage
carrots
yellow onions
zucchini
Portobello mushrooms
Bok choy
kale or spinach leaves
sliced bell pepper (longways)
sliced jalapeño pepper (longways)
broccoli stems (this is one of my favorites to minimize food waste. If you use the broccoli florets in another dish, save the stems. If particularly rough, peel them lightly like a carrot, cut off the ends, and cut them into thin strips. Then mix them into the stir fry as you would carrot sticks. They also take on Tamari or soy flavoring brilliantly on their own over a bed of rice for a simple lunch)

To make the stir fry: simply cook meat through in frying pan and add vegetables in order of crunchiness at 2 minute intervals (for example, broccoli stems first because they are crunchiest, then carrots and onions, then zucchini). Once all is cooked, top with sauce, stirring for another minute, then removing from heat.

Garnish. This is how you will top your stir fry, but it’s not just decoration. The garnish can add real substance if you want to make the meal more or less substantial. Suggested garnishes:

fried egg (for extra protein)
sesame seeds
minced chives or green onions
halved cherry tomatoes
carrot or cucumber slices
lime wedge
sautéed Portobello mushroom slices (pan fried in sherry and garlic)
halved peanuts or cashews toasted under the broiler
shelled, steamed, salted edamame (more extra protein!)
sliced jalapeño pepper (roundways)

Customize away and enjoy! Again, this is such a staple meal in my house, if you come up with combinations not listed here, put them in the comments section!

Tags Asia, Asian, chicken, egg, eggs, garlic, ginger, lime, main course, peanut, sesame, vegan, vegetarian, weeknight

Omni Veggie

Pad Thai

Healthy Pad Thai

Most of us know Pad Thai as a delicious, peanut-y warm dish that is comforting and about 1K calories per bite. Not this pad thai. Make way for delicious, healthy, easy, weeknight pad thai. You’ll never order take out again after you acclimate to this super flexible, vegan, vegetarian, chicken, pork, or tofu pad thai, made with peanut sauce.

what you need

2 chicken thighs or 1 large chicken breast, cut into slices or chunks (alternatively, pork, tofu, or tempeh)

1 small zucchini

2 medium carrots

1/2 yellow onion

1/2 package Organic Forbidden Rice black rice noodles (or Pad Thai noodles of your choosing)

1 tablespoon Ghee (butter or sesame oil will work in the absence of Ghee)

1 batch of homemade peanut pad thai sauce

2 tablespoons butter or desired cooking oil

(optional additions) 1/2 small head of cabbage cut into ribbons, 1 Portobello mushroom, 1 head of broccoli, 2 eggs, 1/2 an avocado cut into slices, etc. See notes below.

Get the sauce recipe here.

how to make it

Make the base. If using brown rice, pour two cups of water into a pot with 1 tablespoon of salted butter and bring to a boil. Add 1 cup of rice and cook, covered on the lowest simmer for 45 minutes until all water has disappeared. Do not stir at any point during the process. Leave covered and remove from heat.

If using noodles, cook noodles according to instructions on package, strain, and set aside.

Make the sauce.

Make the stir fry. Cut zucchini, carrots, and onion into long, thin strips and set aside. Place ghee in large frying pan and melt over medium heat. Add chicken slices/chunks and sauté until pink has just disappeared from the centers. Starting with the carrots, then the onions, and finally the zucchini, add vegetables to pan in 2 minute increments, then cook for an additional 4 minutes until vegetables (especially carrots) are softened but still retain a bit of crunch.

Pour 3/4 of the sauce over the vegetables and stir for 30-60 seconds, just to warm and thicken the sauce ever so slightly. Remove from heat. If topping with fried egg, heat 1 tablespoon butter in pan and quickly fry 2 eggs to desired consistency.

Serve. Place a helping of rice or noodles in the bottom of a bowl and drizzle lightly with remaining sauce. Spoon a hearty helping of the vegetable mixture over the base. Top with desired garnish (see notes below).

With Egg

With Peanut

Without Egg

This recipe, its sauce, and its sister dish Weeknight Stir Fry are literally the most versatile recipes I have ever tried. They are excellent for having a CSA, when many times I end up at the beginning of a week with several misfit vegetables and no one dish to unite them. This is that dish. Check out the Weeknight Stir Fry and Peanut Sauce posts for customization instructions.

One way to take this one bowl wonder up a notch is to augment it with garnish. Actually, this recipe is the reason I pay attention to garnish at all. Not only does it make the dish more presentable (say, for Instagram posts…), but it also adds considerably to the flavor and substantial-ness (totally a word) of the meal.

The Fundamental Laws of Garnish

1. Always add something fresh. This recipe is filled with cooked vegetables that can benefit from the added freshness and crunch of an uncooked vegetable. Some of my favorites: halved cherry tomatoes, sliced radishes, fresh lime wedge, a couple raw carrot wheels (or, if you’re feeling adventurous, perhaps a carrot flower), cucumber slices.

2. Always add something tiny. This gives the dish a daintily haphazard ‘sprinkled’ air. That may sound ridiculous but it looks great in pictures. Suggestions: halved peanuts or cashews toasted under the broiler, sesame seeds (!), minced chives or green onion, fresh parsley flakes.

3. Consider amplifying the meal with a side. If the one bowl concept isn’t popular with family members (or your significant other simply wants something a bit more “substantial”), consider adding a side dish or two to the bowl. Some of my favorites: long slices of Portobello mushroom pan fried in marsala or sherry and garlic, fried egg, steamed broccoli florets, salted and shelled edamame beans, fresh avocado slices.

On a completely separate topic, I am definitely noting “The Absence of Ghee” as a potential mid-life crisis rock band name.

Tags Asia, Asian, chicken, chopsticks, eggs, garlic, garnish, ginger, health, healthy, main course, peanut, sesame, stir fry, vegan, vegetarian, weeknight

Veggie

Peanut Sauce

Peanut Sauce

This is the versatile Peanut Sauce. Ironically, only the variation is made with actual peanut butter. The version I typically make is peanut-free! But this is THE sauce for healthy Pad Thai, Weeknight Stir Fry, rice attire, salad dressing, noodle accoutrement, etc. If you’re missing an ingredient, don’t panic. There is a substitution for almost everything. So customize away!

what you need

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons almond butter (or any nut butter)

Juice from half a lime

1/2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 whole garlic clove, peeled

1 small knob of fresh ginger (no need to chop or peel)

3 tablespoons Tamari (or soy sauce)

1/2 tablespoon fish sauce

1/4 cup cashew milk (or other nut milk, or regular milk)

Salt, black pepper, & cayenne pepper to taste

See below for sweet peanut variation.

how to make it

Place all ingredients in chopper or small blender (I use the smallest container in this 3-in-1). Blend until smooth adding milk or water to reach desired consistency, noting that if adding to stir fry over heat, the mixture will thicken slightly.

Notes on texture: The amount of liquid controls how thick or thin this sauce becomes. Add more or less milk depending on desired thickness.

Notes on ingredients: This recipe is SUPER flexible. The substance comes from the nut butters. My favorite blend is tahini + almond, but peanut is a good option as well. If lacking tahini, you could make the entire thing with 4 tablespoons of almond butter.

Lime and vinegar give you the tanginess. I would be hard pressed to make this without lime juice but, technically, you only need one of the two, and could probably get away with lemon in a pinch. Similarly, you could skip the ginger OR the garlic OR the fish sauce and not be hurting for it.

To make this recipe sweeter: add 1 tablespoon fresh honey, 1 tablespoon of Hoisin sauce, or 1 tablespoon of molasses.

Sweet Peanut Variation

what you need

1/4 cup natural peanut butter

1/4 cup lime juice or 1/8 cup rice wine vinegar

2-3 tablespoons Tamari (or soy sauce)

1/2 teaspoon fermented chili paste (or sriracha)

1 tablespoon maple syrup

2-6 tablespoons of water

1 teaspoon sesame oil

(optional) 1 garlic clove, finely grated

(optional) 1 fresh ginger knob, finely grated

how to make it

Whisk together all ingredients excluding the water. Add the water one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Since natural peanut butters vary in consistency from very thick (Whole Foods or Publix brands) to very thin (some in jars), you will need to adjust the amount of water to achieve the consistency that suits your dish.

Tags Asia, Asian, creamy, garlic, ginger, lime, peanut, sauce, sesame, tahini, vegan, vegetarian, weeknight