I was planning a very simple snow peas and zucchini stir fry with bits and pieces from the fridge so I thought I’d bump up the dish a bit by serving the stir fry with eggs. The idea was to boil the eggs just until the whites were firm but the yolks still runny. The stir fry would be on one side of the platter then the eggs, cut in half and the runny yolks oozing out, would be on the other side. But I overcooked the eggs. Although the yolks were still soft, they were no longer runny.
The funny thing is that the eggs turned out to be a superfluity. Still, they made the dish prettier and more colorful than it would have been without them. (Note to self: the eggs would have been much prettier if I had sprinkled them with black sesame seeds).
The snow peas and zucchini stir fry tasted so good despite its simplicity that it really didn’t need the eggs to make it more palatable. The secret? First, never overcook the vegetables in a stir fry. Second, layer the seasonings. Season the vegetables lightly. In this case, salt and pepper for the basic seasoning, and a bit of sugar to blend with the chilies. There is no need to season the meat since it is already cooked and seasoned. The little soy sauce added toward the end will bring all the flavors together.
This is a stir fried dish so you may want to start with a refresher on stir frying basics.
- 2 tablespoons vegetable cooking oil
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoons garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated
- 1/2 teaspoon chilies chopped (or 1/4 teaspoon dried chilies)
- 1/2 cup snow peas trimmed
- 1/2 cup zucchini sticks (cut a little bit thicker than julienned)
- 1/4 cup bell pepper (red, green or yellow — it doesn’t matter), julienned
- salt
- pepper
- a bit of sugar
- a splash of rice wine (not rice wine vinegar)
- 1/2 cup crispy roast pork belly thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- a drizzle of sesame seed oil
- sesame seeds toasted, to garnish
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Heat the cooking oil in a wok or frying pan.
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Saute the onion, garlic, ginger and chilies just until fragrant.
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Add the snow peas, zucchini and bell pepper. Season with a little salt, pepper and sugar. Stir fry for half a minute.
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Add a splash of rice wine. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the wine has evaporated (the steam that the wine creates will cook the vegetables; the deep flavors of the wine will give them a richer taste).
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Add the crispy roast pork belly slices.
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Drizzle in the soy sauce.
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Stir fry just until the meat is heated through.
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Transfer to a serving platter. Drizzle with a little sesame seed oil. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Serve at once.
