Hot Stuff!

The brown rice is cooking and the tofu has been lightly fried in a thin layer of canola oil and then hotted-up with black bean sauce, a dab of Thai pepper sauce, and curry powder. To continue: scrape the pan to remove the tofu.  Set in a bowl and cover with foil to keep it warm.  Add a ½ cup of water to the hot pan ’cause the veggies cook in it next. Hint: use a heavy pan or a wok for this type of cooking. This is Chinese style cooking – my brand of it. (Without the MSG.)

Thursday I found Chinese spinach at the Farmer’s Market on Nicollet Mall. It has a lemon and pepper scent that I couldn’t resist.  The leaves are deep green and pointy. It’s very pretty tied up in a neat bouquet. The seller was pleased when I asked about it. She beamed a proud smile. Smiles all around as I smelled the unique aroma.  It inspired me.

The veggies are standing by, cut up and looking healthy. They are: purple cabbage, green cabbage, green zucchini squash, red scallion, broccoli florets and the Chinese spinach. (Told you that vegetables are great.)  They just jumped into the pan and are making that happy sizzling sound.  Spices are: basil, and lemon basil and some parsley to give some depth to the flavors.

While the veggies steam in the pan they are steeping in the spices from the Tofu.

The vegetables start to turn brighter from the steam. Add 3 tablespoons of water and continue to steam the veggies for a few minutes. Add a tablespoon plus of black bean sauce and liberally sprinkle Tamari sauce or Soy sauce on the vegetables.  Prepare a ½ cup of water and stir in a level tablespoon of cornstarch – dissolve it.  For fun add about ¼ teaspoon of Thai green curry paste to this mixture and toss it on the steaming vegetables.  Let it cook for a five minutes gently stirring and in a few minutes the sauce thickens.  It’s ready to serve with the rice. The colors are bright. They veggies are crisp and there lots of subtle flavors, but not too much, to surprise the palate. Put the yellow tinted tofu on top and you have a beautiful, colorful summer dish.  This is a mild dish.

It tastes really good. The Chinese spinach keeps it pepper and lemon flavor. It’s a quick meal to prepare.

Enjoy summer’s bounty.

Your comments and recipes are welcome.