Along with the shrimp pad thai I served a veggie stir fry, featuring broccoli, mushrooms, and more. While I have prepared many stir fries throughout my life, this one sticks out. I used a different sauce and took more care than just tossing some veggies plus teriyaki or soy sauce in a pan. It was still super fast to make and the extra ingredients really made a difference. This stir fry went very quickly when served!
Note: This entire meals cooks VERY quickly once you get going so make sure to prepare everything in advance. Sit down and slice up all your veggies and mix up all of your sauces. When all is set to go, start cooking and you'll be ready to go in just 10-15 minutes max.
Difficulty: Medium-Easy
Time: 25 min
Shrimp Pad Thai
Time: 20 min
Ingredients:
1 package Pad Thai or rice stick noodles
1/4 c. ketchup
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 tsp peanut oil
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails removed optional)
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 c bean sprouts
3/4 c green onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp chopped, dry-roasted (unsalted) peanuts
(this recipe is based upon a similar one from Cooking Light)
As noted above, make sure all of your veggies are chopped and ready to go.
Follow the instructions to cook your pad thai noodles, which most likely involves soaking them in hot water. I ran into trouble here, so make sure to test them before assuming they are finished and soft enough!
Mix together the ketchup, sugar, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes. I know ketchup sounds like a terrible idea, and I was quite hesitant, but it really does work out in the end. Try it! Set this aside for now.
Heat two of the teaspoons of peanut oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Toss in the shrimp (I prefer to cook them without tails, but this is optional) and cook for 2-3 minutes or until they are done. They cook very quickly but should turn pink and curl up. Stir as they cook. Once they are done remove them from the pan and set them aside.
Heat the other 2 tsp of peanut oil in the same pan. Add the eggs and immediately scramble them for just half a minute. They should be scrambled "softly" so they aren't hard. Immediately add the sprouts, green onions, and garlic. Keep stirring the entire time and cook for another minute to 1.5 minutes. Add the noodles (soft!) and the soft you already made. Toss and mix well to make sure everything is evenly coated. Cook for 3 minutes and then remove from the heat and sprinkle the peanuts on top. Enjoy!
Veggie Stir Fry
Time: 20 min
Note: You could easily make this a full meal by adding shrimp, tofu, or another protein to this dish. Here, I present the recipe to make it as a side.
Ingredients:
1/3 c vegetable broth
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
6 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 tsp honey
2 tsp corn starch
1/4 tsp chili pepper
1 tsp peanut oil
1.5 cups bok choy, leaves cut to bite size
1 c shiitake mushrooms, sliced
3/4 c green onions, diced
1.5 c broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tbsp ginger, minced
3 tbsp white wine
1/4 c dry roasted (unsalted) cashews or cashew halves
First, as described above, cut up all of your veggies and have them ready to go. Next, we'll turn to the sauce. Dissolve the corn starch in 4 tbsp of water and set aside. Put the broth, fish sauce, lime juice, honey, and chili pepper in a small pot over medium high heat. Wait until it just starts to bubble and then turn to medium low heat. Add the garlic and dissolved corn starch and stir constantly, cooking for just under 1 minute. The sauce should have thickened with the addition of the corn starch. Set aside and keep warm.
Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the peanut oil and let it heat for a minute or two. Then, toss in the ginger and mushrooms. Stir fry for about a minute and then add 1 tbsp of your white wine. Stir fry for another 2-3 minutes or until mushrooms are starting to get darker and softer. Add another 1 tbsp of wine halfway through the cooking process to keep the mushrooms and ginger from drying out.
Add the bok choy, green onions, and broccoli. Stir well. Add 1/3 of your stir fry sauce and mix well, making sure it is evenly spread out. Add the final tbsp of your white wine. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes, or until the bok choy is wilting and shrinking and the broccoli is fairly cooked but still a little crisp.
Add the rest of your stir fry sauce. Mix well and stir fry for another 3 minutes. Mix in the cashews and then remove from the heat.
No comments:
Post a Comment