Fit Fare

Editor’s Note - This is part 3 in a 4-part series on Making Vegetable Delicious. Part 2 can be found here.

Continuing in our series of how to make vegetables delicious, we will look to the Far East for some inspiration. Chinese food is one of the most popular take out foods; unfortunately most takeout dishes are deep fried and loaded with salt. Delicious and healthy Chinese-inspired dishes can be made quite easily at home. The ingredients may seem exotic or intimidating, but a stir-fry meal with a generous helping of vegetables as the main ingredient can be prepared and ready in less than 25 minutes. It will be a technique that you will need to have in your cooking arsenal when you come home from work starving ready to stuff your face with crackers and spray cheese.

You will need a few tools in stock before you get started, though. A good wok can be purchased at your local kitchen supply store for around $30. If you are lucky, you may live near a Chinatown in a large city, and can get a great wok made of carbon steel for under $20. An authentic wok will need to be maintained and re-seasoned with oil, but it is a great kitchen tool to have. If you are looking to have that great chicken and broccoli which rivals your neighborhood Chinese joint, getting an authentic wok will be the best tool you can have. You will also want to do the “stir-frying” using a wooden spoon, because anything metal will scratch your wok.

A stir-fry is an evening meal in my home at least two evenings during the work week. The basic stir-fry is a mixture of some type of protein, a mixture of vegetables mixed with some oil and spices, cooked at a high heat. Preparation is key when stir-frying, and you will need to have most of your ingredients ready before you actually start cooking, because you will not have the time to do any prep once the oil gets hot. It’s best to get some kind of starch such as Asian noodles or Jasmine Rice started on the stove while you prepare your stir-fry. As a shortcut, I usually purchase asparagus, broccoli crowns, and some green or red peppers on the weekend, and I slice them up and place them in a plastic container in my refrigerator. Other vegetables which are excellent in stir-fries include snow peas, onions, mushrooms, and green beans. If you are feeling even more adventurous you can try using some bok choy, Asian cabbage, or spinach. Having these vegetables on hand and pre-cut will cut down on your prep time significantly.

Before you get started, you should have all of your vegetables washed and cut. If you wish to add garlic, it is best to mince it, so at least have your garlic cloves peeled before you turn the heat on, and the same thing goes for ginger, which is another nice addition to a stir-fry.

Many of my home stir-fries contain about 3-4 ounces of protein per serving; most commonly chicken or shrimp, and occasionally I add cubes of soy. If you choose to add some protein, it should be sliced and marinated before you start.

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in your wok. Peanut oil, canola oil, or olive oil are fine choices for stir-frying. You can heat your wok over medium high heat. Add your spices, which can include your minced garlic, sliced ginger, or small chilies if you like some heat. Next, add your protein if you choose to use some, and move the protein around the bottom of the wok. Once the protein is cooked through, I remove it from the wok and place it on a side plate, and then I immediately add my vegetables to the hot wok. Asparagus, onions, green beans and peppers will cook in about three to four minutes in the wok, whereas snow peas will take a little less time. After those few minutes, you may want to add some sauce, although this is not a necessary step. You can add a premade stir-fry sauce such as a black bean or chili sauce, or you can make a homemade sauce of such ingredients as soy sauce, honey, cornstarch, chicken broth, and some rice vinegar. These sauces are low in fat, and you ultimately control the sodium. The extra moisture will be important if you choose to use broccoli, because the moisture will finish steaming the broccoli and the sauce will be absorbed into the vegetables.

The possibilities with stir-fries are endless, and each concoction will guarantee that you can get your vegetable quota in for the day with ease. You are limited only by your own imagination.