magic spicy peanut sauce

Aww yeah, this is where the magic happens. 4 burners on a tiny electric stove in dark and tiny galley kitchen. I definitely dream of the time when I'll have a truly beautiful kitchen with a window, a dishwasher and a gas-powered stove. But this is what I've got. It ain't fancy and it certainly isn't a hindrance when it comes to cooking creatively.

Now what you are looking at may not look pretty, but boy oh boy, eating this made me feel like I unlocked some ancient life-changing secret. This is a peanut sauce and while I've made quite a few delicious peanut sauces, this one knocked my socks off. When I set out to make this sauce, I was just thinking of adding something simple to the tofu and veggie stirfry that I was making for dinner. An almost empty jar of peanut butter in the fridge held my attention. And while I didn't set out to re-create something magical, it just happened that way.

You see, there's a local unassuming Chinese restaurant in Vancouver called Szechuan Chongqing and they have a wonton dish in spicy peanut sauce that is my absolute most favorite thing to order. The sauce is spicy and peanutty and oh-so-perfect and never in my right mind did I think that I could create that kind of magic at home in my dingy little kitchen. But somehow this sauce was revelatory. It was just like the version I know and love. Better even, because my peanut sauce wasn't greasy like Chongquing's version. So toss this up a sauce to mix in with your stir fry or use as a dipping sauce with chicken or tofu. Or go all out and use as a sauce for some pork-filled wontons and let the magic happen to you.

magic spicy peanut sauce
3 T chunky natural peanut butter
1 T sriracha
juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 c water + more
2 T chili garlic sauce
2 T honey
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T fresh ginger, minced
1 T soy sauce

In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients over med-high, adding extra water by the tablespoon when or if it gets to thick. Don't use sparingly.

transitioning into spring

For the past week, I've been relishing the spring weather in all it's bounty. It's been asparagus this and fresh strawberry that and I even managed to get in a game or two of badminton! However, when I looked into the fridge this evening, I was disappointed. It seemed that I had delved too quickly into my spring supply of produce that only winter vegetables were left, tucked into the nether regions of the vegetable drawer. Instead of making another hearty soup (groan!), I spotted a lemon and set in motion plans to put a bit of spring into dinner. A stir-fry would be perfect for my needs and instead of making a heavy sweet n' sour sauce to go with it, I whipped up a light n' lemony sauce that was just perfect! I served the stir fry on top of plain ol' spaghetti, but I'm sure brown rice would be an even lovelier accompaniment. As for the vegetables, you can use whatever you've got in your fridge which is exactly what I did.

vegetable stir fry with lemon-miso sauce
1 T oil
1 head broccoli, broken into florets
2 carrots, sliced into coins
1/2 head cabbage, sliced into strips
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
a few shakes of soy sauce

for the sauce:
juice & zest of 1 lemon
1 T miso
1 t hot water
1 t soy sauce
1 T honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
1/2 t cornstarch
a few shakes of sesame oil & sriracha

1. In a measuring cup, whisk together the sauce ingredients and set aside.

2. Heat oil over high heat in wok. Add vegetables and toss until glistening. Add in a few shakes of soy sauce and keep stirring until vegetables are tender-crisp. Pour sauce over vegetables and stir until well coated. Cook for another minute and serve over rice or noodles.

oh, summertime

Stir-fries are probably the most common go-to dinner in this lil' apartment. Quick to cook, stir-fries are more than ideal for hot summertime kitchens, plus it's a healthy option and you can mix up the flavours and ingredients and always come up with something special. I know that some people find chopping up so many vegetables tedious, but I find it relaxing. Chopping brightly coloured orange and yellow peppers, cutting the ends of vibrant green beans and pulling out the florets of bright white cauliflower is an almost artistic endeavor for me. I love looking at my handiwork staring back at me in neat little colour-coordinated rows. My summertime kitchen is extra special because the glory of golden hour brings the evening sun into our orange kitchen which bounces off our disco ball hanging by the window. With all the light dancing around the room along with my loud* music**, it's almost too easy to imagine I'm somewhere exciting and other-worldly. But truth is, I'm quite content in my tiny little orange kitchen and I certainly wouldn't give up chopping vegetables for the most beautiful food processor in the world.

I make many stir-fry variations depending what I've got in the kitchen. I usually add tofu or chicken for protein, or I make it a simple vegetables-only affair. And of course, use what veggies you've got in the crisper. I usually add some orange or pineapple juice to the sauce but this evening I decided to use a grapefruit that had found hidden away in the vegetable crisper. The stir-fry didn't have a strong grapefruit flavour, but I like adding fruit juice instead of adding vegetable broth because I think it adds an extra depth to the fresh flavour to the meal. What can I say, I like things with a touch of sweetness!

chicken & vegetable stir-fry
2 chicken thighs, cut up into strips
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 red onion, large dice
1 orange pepper, large dice
1 yellow pepper, large dice
1 large handful of green beans, cut in half
1/2 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
1 T oil
1 T soy sauce

Sauce:
1 T brown sugar
1 grapefruit, juiced
1 T sesame oil
1/2 t chili flakes
1 T soy sauce
1 T cornstarch

1. Mix together the sauce ingredients and set aside.

2. In a wok or large pan, heat up oil and add garlic and onions and heat until translucent. Add chicken and use tongs to stir it all about for about 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

3. Add the cauliflower and 1 T of soy sauce into the pan. After a few minutes, add the green beans and then the peppers, stirring everything about. When the vegetables look bright and tender-crisp, give the sauce one last stir and add it to the wok. Again, toss everything about so that everything is well coated and the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat and serve over rice or Chinese noodles.

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Today's musical selection provided by local Vancouver band, The Pink Mountaintops. There are a few mp3's online at their label site, but really, do yourself the favour & buy both cds.
* "Can you do that dance?", from their S/T release
** "New Drug Queens", from Axis of Evol

stir fry it up

Oh Blogger you can be such a bitch sometimes. Today is the first day in ages that I've been able to post and Blogger's buggy nature is making me want to tackle Wordpress. Early in the week it was hot and sunny and we had the fans turned on high. I decided that I would start a "Leisure Club" for me & my friends with tennis being the first thing on the agenda. So I drew a flyer, sent it out and now the Strathcona Leisure Club is more than just a blip in my brain. Of course, I can't even play tennis, but that won't stop the fun times ahead. Tennis + friends + beer = good summer fun!

It's back to cold and rainy weather again, but the hot weather didn't stop me from thinking about curry. I made this the same day I made the tennis poster and a little hot weather certainly won't be a stop to my cravings for curry. The key of course to this curry is pineapple. Really, don't try making it without it....I mean, it will still be good n' all, but it won't reach the level of greatness that is pineapple perfection. The vegetables, however, can be substituted to whatever you've got on hand and chicken or tofu can most certainly be added. Just don't skip the pineapple!

pineapple - coconut vegetable curry
1/2 large head of cauliflower, torn into florets
1 head of broccoli, torn into florets
1 red onion, chopped into large peices
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
1 green pepper, roughly chopped
1 carrot, sliced on the diagonal
1 T oil
1 t soy sauce
1/2 t crushed red chilis
1 small can of coconut milk (5.6 fl. oz.)
3 T curry paste (I used Patak's Korma curry paste)
1 c fresh pineapple chunks

1. Heat the oil in a large pan or wok. Add the vegetables and quickly stirfy on high. Add the soy sauce and chilis and continue stirring. Turn down heat.

2. In a small sauce pan, heat up the curry paste (if your paste has no oil, add a small amount into the pan) and add the coconut milk. Stir to blend.

3. Add the coconut/curry mixture to the vegetables, stirring to make sure all the vegetables are coated. Add the pineapple and continue cooking until the pineapple has cooked through, about 3 minutes.

4. Serve over rice or noodles.