Spicy Oriental-style veggie stir-fry

Oriental Vegetable stir-fry

I've been super-busy with the run up to the end of the year, so here's an old post I had in the bank from last year, for just such an occasion.  Curry post will follow.  Two in fact...

 Having a fridge clear out recently , I spied a reduced pack of steamable broccoli and cauliflower  It turned out I already had some broccoli spears and cauli cous-cous in the fridge and so...

Starting to think about adding Thai, pepper and soy flavours...

You've seen these mild peppers before.  This is where they were first tried out.  Some char-siu pork on the side...

Remembering I had most of the two ingredients I was about to buy, I went for some small red and yellow peppers instead.  I had some other veg to use up, plus I got a portion of five-spice pork (which you can of course omit)
This is a remarkably simple and fast recipe, but we're going to try making our own Chinese sauce to go with it.

Here's our ingredients for today:

90% reduction for some great onion.

Today's new ingredient - cauliflower "cous-cous", above some tender stem broccoli that have seen better days, but won't be wasted.

 

 Ingredients (per person)

1 handful cauliflower cous-cous, or 1/3 a cauliflower head, de-stalked
1-2 handfuls of tender-stem broccoli with the stalks chopped off
1 bag of stir-fry mix.  Typically this contains:
 - Cabbage (or Chinese leaf if you have it, or kale, or whatever...) , shredded.
 - Beansprouts.
 - Carrots, finely shredded.
 - Red onion.  Red onion is one of the few foods that disagrees with me so I usually add...

One large white onion, finely chopped, as well / instead, to my stir fries.

1 red pepper, or 2 or 3 mild sweet peppers.
1/3* chili pepper (note the original recipe called for 1/2 but I decided this was a liiitle too spicy...)
2 tbsps. oil.  This may seem like a lot but you can drain it off.  Just keep your pan / wok hot.
1 clove chopped garlic

For the sauce 

1 large tbsp hoi sin sauce
1 tsp thai green chilli paste
2 tbsp light soy
2 tbsp dark soy
1/2 tsp chinese 5-spice powder 
1 tsp (approx) grated ginger

Method

Heat the oil as hot as your smoke alarms will allow.  Add the onions, chili and all vegetables first, except the cauliflower (on the first run it burnt a little easily)  Stir fry for 3 minutes, add the garlic and cauliflower, and fry for another 3 minutes, stirring continuously. 

Cauli, broccoli, sweet peppers, stir-fry mix

 Finally add the sauce and let it coat the veg.  Allow to cool and serve.


*munch*

Perhaps not the prettiest or best stir fry ever, but one great way to use up some cauliflower and broccoli.

Yes!  As I said, maybe half a chili AND a tsp of green Thai curry paste was maybe a bit much for this dish (don't worry, I'm doing a curry with Trinidadian scorpion chilies in it soon) but the crunchy veg and thick tasty sauce made this a fast, healthy, cheap supper, full of flavour.  The cauliflower couscous has made me love that so misaligned vegetable again.  Also, some Chinese shiaxing wine, or sherry, would cut through the sauce a little, had I had anything like that.  But hey.  The Chinese five spice pork was added as an afterthought, and was very nice, but to be honest, this dish didn't need it.  You could use mushrooms and they would work as well , or better, for a full veggie option.  

Another winner dinner, cooked in 10 minutes from prep to plate, for under a quid.