Basic Stir Fry

Tonight we had pork stir fry for dinner.  This one of my mother's favourite meals and a good one dish dinner.

I always start by chopping vegetables.  Tonight I used mushrooms, red pepper, carrots, onions, garlic, broccoli and baby bok choy.  You can really use what ever vegetables you like.   I usually use fresh ginger as well but didn't have any tonight.  I've used water chestnuts, bean sprouts, green beans, Savoy cabbage, canned baby cobs of corn, bamboo shoots, green onions, etc in the past.  The only rule is to stir fry the veg in order of longest cooking times - in this case, the carrots first.  I then slice up the meat I'm using.  Tonight I used one thick pork chop but I often use chicken, beef, or shrimp.  I'm not a tofu kinda gal but I have often just used veg.

I serve stir fries with rice or noodles.  If you are using rice, I would start it when you start chopping veg.  If you are using noodles, I would start to boil water at the same time you start cooking. When the water comes to a boil, cook noodles for a few minutes and drain. I pour 1 Tbsp of oil into a hot pan.  I then add a small handful of blanched almonds and start toasting them.  After tossing them for a few minutes, I add the meat and brown it.  Then I added the carrots, chunks of onion and broccoli.  If the pan starts to dry out, add a little water.

Stir over high heat for a few minutes and then add red peppers, mushrooms and garlic.  I would also add minced ginger at this point and a teaspoon of sesame oil.  Stir for a few minutes and add a 1/4 cup of soya sauce.

At this point, I would add my other seasonings - 1 Tbsp oyster sauce, 1 Tbsp of sweet chili sauce (which is actually a little hot!) and 1 Tbsp of honey.

Stir together and add the bok choy.  Cook a couple of minutes til it starts to wilt.

Then add your cooked noodles and toss to combine.  Start to finish, this recipe takes about 30 minutes and is a great standby to use up that last piece of meat from an "economy" package and the bits of veg left in the fridge.

Enjoy!