The nicest thing about Chinese stir-fried dishes is that you can get just about any combination of vegetables available, cut them up in the same sizes, and throw them in the wok with a little meat (or even none at all) and some good sauce. The best combination, of course, follows the basic Chinese cooking principle that the cooked dish should be good in appearance, texture and flavor.
To come up with a good-looking vegetable stir-fry, it is best to choose vegetables that vary in colors and textures. Popular choices include carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, snow peas (chicharo), green (Baguio) beans, cauliflower, baby corn, bamboo shoots and broccoli. In some countries where vegetables are seasonal, the choices are limited by the season. Actually, that is perhaps the very reason why the Chinese invented so many ways of cooking their stir-fries. They use vegetables in season.
In tropical countries like the Philippines where vegetables are abundant almost all-year round, stir-fried vegetable dishes are easy to make. One practical guideline is that prices of certain vegetables vary depending on the season. As a rule, vegetables are more expensive during the rainy months; cheap and plentiful during the summer months.
Ingredients :
1/4 k. of carrots, sliced thinly
1/4 k. of eggplants, cut into 1″ x 1″ cubes
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 sticks of celery, cut into 1″ lengths
2 cakes of tofu, cut into 1-1/2″ x 1-1/2″ cubes
100 g. of pork belly, boiled and cut into 1/2″ by 1″ strips
1/2 head of garlic, crushed and minced
1 onion, halved and sliced
3/4 c. of meat or vegetable stock
1 tsp. of light soy sauce
1 tsp. of oyster sauce
1/2 tsp. of sugar
1 tsp. of cornstarch
1/2 tsp. of sesame seed oil
salt and pepper to taste
cooking oil
Cooking procedure :
Heat enough cooking oil in a wok to measure 1-1/2″ deep. When smoking, fry the tofu cubes until golden. Drain on paper towels.
Pour off but 1 tbsp. of cooking oil from the wok. Reheat until smoking once more. Over high heat, stir-fry the pork strips until the edges start to brown. Add the garlic and onions and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the vegetables with a 30-second interval, stirring with each addition. The ones that take longer to cook should be added first–eggplant cubes, carrots, bell peppers, celery and onion leaves. Lastly, add the cooked tofu. Mix together the stock, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cornstarch, sugar, salt, pepper and sesame seed oil. Pour into the wok, stirring just until the sauce thickens. Serve at once.
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