Another Mutton Stir Fry

I have waited so long to post this recipe, my memory of what I did is probably fairly inaccurate.  But I think it's pretty accurate- the only thing is that you might want to add more soy sauce or rice vinegar, depending on your tastes.  When I first made this, I thought it was rather bland.  Thus the reason I waited so long to post it.  M was fine the way it was, but I got an inspiration to add apricot preserves to mine in order add a bit of punch.  That worked out so well, and I fell in love with the stir fry afterwards.

I can't praise the mock meat section in the Vegetarian Market enough... it's amazing!  A-ma-zing!  They have these really authentic looking drumsticks that I would like to try next... and Wok has a recipe that I think would fit excently.  So look for that pretty soon.  In the meantime, M and I are surviving on this one.

I was totally amazed at how simple it was to put this together.  I picked the ingredients because M wasn't able to help me that night, and I wasn't eating at midnight.  And it made so much- it hardly fit into the wok at first.  I served this over udon noodles, because they are fast, but I bet it would be excellent over rice as well.

Sweet and Spicy Mutton Stir Fry

Inspired (VERY loosely) by Wok

Serves 6

1 package vegetarian mutton, thawed and broken into bite-sized pieces

1 large onion, halved and sliced

.75 lb shiitake mushrooms, chopped

.75 lb snow peas, trimmed

2 cups broccoli florets

2 cups green cabbage, shredded

1 bell pepper, chopped
1 leek, cut into rings
5 1½ inch pieces lemon grass
1 tbsp grated ginger
½ tbsp corn starch

Chili sauce, to taste

1 tbsp yellow bean paste
1 tbsp Better Than Bullion Ham Flavouring
4-5 tbsp soy sauce
4-5 tbsp rice vinegar
Sugar free apricot preserves, if you want, to taste

Mix together the corn starch through the rice vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat with a bit of water. Add the onion, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the shiitakes with the leeks, cook for another minute, and then stir in the ginger and lemon grass. Add the broccoli, cook for another minute, and add the cabbage, snow peas, and bell pepper. When the veggies are almost tender add the mutton and sauce. Heat through and mix thoroughly.

Remove the lemon grass stalks, and serve over udon or rice. I put the preserves on the table, where I could add as much as I wanted. M was fine the it way it was; mine needed a bit more flavour for me.