Coconut, Potato, and Veggie Stir Fry

This is rather an interesting dish, one that I would never have dreamed up. It has a kind of sweetness that is a very nice surprise, and makes a nice change from the normal pace of stir fries. I love the little fingerling potatoes in here too, which really add a lot of punch to the dish. Since M is not such a big fan of the “ham”, I just had mine on the side of the plate, which made me squeal because it was so pretty. Another great stir fry. There never seems to be two of a kind with stir fries.

Sweet, Potato and “Ham” Stir Fry

Adapted from Wok
Serves 4
1-2 tbsp masaman curry paste
1 cup reduced fat coconut milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
3 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
3 tbsp tamarind juice
1 tbsp corn starch
1 smallish onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
1 head broccoli florets
1 bell pepper, chopped
12 oz fingerling potatoes, boiled until tender (about 8 minutes)
3 cups vegetarian ham, chopped

Rice and almonds, to serve

Mix together the curry paste through corn starch in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat a wok over medium high heat with a bit of water. Add the onion and carrots, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the broccoli and bell pepper, and sauté for another 4-5 minutes. Add the potatoes and sauce, then the ham. Cook until heated through, about 1 more minute, and then serve over rice with almond slivers.

 

Coconut Milk - Not All THAT Bad

I have always been shy of using coconut milk because it is so high in fat.  But then I saw it in one of my new healthy cookbooks, and realized that in small quantites, especially the light varieties, it's not all that bad, really.  So I decided to tackle this pretty simple dish with coconut milk.  The only glitch I ran into was adding the milk.  When I poured  the milk straight from the can, the milk was separated.  I ended up getting all the cream in the stir fry, and then all that was left over was a thin, slightly opaque water.  So I spent some time scooping what I could out of the wok, and it seemed to still be ok.  Actually, this dish was way more than ok.  It was one of the best things that I have ever tasted.  I was in love with this dish from my very first bite.  I really have to start to use coconut more, because it is amazingly good.  The funny  thing was that I thought the leftovers were even better.  Probably because the flavours had had time to mix.  Whatever.  It was still amazing, and I could totally live of of this stir fry.

Noodles and Veggies in Coconut Sauce
Serves 6

Adapted from Chinese and Thai 400

1 tbsp, or to taste, masaman curry paste
1 onion, thickly sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
3 cups broccoli
2 large carrots, coined
½ 14 oz can reduced fat coconut milk
A couple drops coconut extract
½ cup Silk
½ cup water
1 tbsp vegetarian chicken bullion
2 servings frozen egg noodles
1 tbsp mushroom flavoured soy sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 vegetarian hot dogs, chopped
1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1 small red chili, for garnish (opt)

Heat a wok over medium heat. Add the curry paste and onion and cook for 5-10 minutes, until the onion has slightly softened. Add the bell pepper through carrots. Reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Bring the heat to medium, and add the broccoli florets, coconut milk, coconut extract, silk, broth, and noodles. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir and heat through, and serve.

Sweet and Fiery Coconut Udon Stir Fry

Sheesh, I feel like I have been neglecting to post recently, but really M and I have been working hard on finishing off the various leftovers (mainly the Unfried Rice, which I still think was absolutely A-Mazing).  That, and what with school being so demanding, I think I am going to be stuggling with posting as often as I want.  But no worries there, because, hey, I will never stop cooking... until someone holds me at knifepoint, I will not stop chopping (no pun intended).  But here is my latest and greatest.

This is another takeoff on one of the recipes from my cookbook that I got recently called Wok.  The original is called Turkey Ragout with Coconut.  I guess you are wondering how a ragout turns into a stir fry, but it happens here, folks!  The sauce stayed basically the same, with a few additions, and I added a few more veggies.  And tofu knots made a great stand-in for the turkey.  In the version that I made, I decided to add some celery, but that did not really seem to fit in too well, so I have omitted it in this version of the recipe.  Other than that, I honestly think that this is a very interesting combination of flavours.  Make sure your green beans are actually decent quality, or just substitute something else, because I think that they could make or break this dish.
And, oh.... the loves of my life: udon noodles and tofu knots.  I can't seem to down enough of these things.  Either of them!  And I love coconut extract, too.  It really seems to be such a good toy in the kitchen for amping up the flavour of dishes. 

Oh, goodie, now I get to go look for similies and metaphors and such... my favourite.  Can't my teachers just grade my cooking, instead?

Sweet and Fiery Coconut Udon Stir Fry

Serves 4

Inspired by Wok

1/2 bag dried bean curd skin knots (75 grams total), soaked in water until soft
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup basil leaves, torn
1 bunch spinach
Just under 2 cups snap peas, trimmed
.7 lb shiitake mushrooms, chopped large
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/2 tbsp coconut extract
1 1/2 tbsp yellow curry paste
4 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp agave nectar
1-2 tsp chili sauce, to taste
4 servings udon noodles, cooked and kept warm
Nuts for topping (I tried both walnuts and almonds)

Mix together the coconut extract through the agave, and set aside.
Heat a large wok coated with nonstick spray over medium high heat.  Add the mushrooms, and cook for a minute.  Add the green beans and snap peas, and cook for 2 or 3 more minutes, and then add the bell pepper and green onion.  When the veggies are almost done, add the basil, spinach, and sauce.  When the spinach is wilted toss in the bean curd skin, and heat through.
Serve over udon noodles topped off with nuts.