Topic: Vegetable Stir Fry

[Shibboleth]

I have found that you have to be careful with fish sauce. It is good in small amounts.

The base for most of my asian dishes is...
Brown Sugar
Tamari (or Soy Sauce)
Red Chilis
Garlic
Ginger

[David E.]

One of the most flavorful veggie recipies is one of the most simple. 

Good Olive Oil
Good herbs/spices

Roast till done. 

[Karyn]

That was epic, WC.  I think I'll take it to heart.

[Plastique]

There is NOTHING more repulsive and offensive than the ubiquitous brown sauce stir fry, it is a pale and insulting imitation of real food. Okay, there are more repulsive and offensive things in the world, but not in the world of stir frys.

What's a brown sauce stir fry?

Now comes the tricky bit; pickled radish or galangal. Even well stocked asian markets may not carry it. It is very finely diced galangal pickled and salted. Various brands, various qualities. It's the secret ingredient. So secret, it's hard to come by. Shhhhhh....

Yeah, I tried some galangal the other day. Not pickled, though—it was fresh and whole. It's related to ginger, apparently. So you think pickled is the way to go?

Other essential flavor ingredients added at various points;

• Soy sauce (duh), but sparringly
• Sugar. Any kind, but palm is tops. Either palm cake sautéed in at the beginning, or pre crushed palm or regular sprinkled in on the noodles, if noodles are part of the stir fry. Or at any point if no noodles are going in, the only caveat is allowing it to liquify.
• SRI-MOTHERFUCKING-RACHA
• Eh, lemongrass if you're up for it. Not necessarily vital
• And at the very end; Fish sauce. Can't let it cook, just a splash, very tiny amount at the very last minute. If you love southeast asian cuisine but hate the smell of stinky fishy feet, turn away and don't take a wiff, and pretend it's not there. BUT DO IT!!!
• Squeezed lime or lemon from wedges only moments before it goes in 'yer gullet

It's all about getting 5 things in perfect harmony; sweet, salty, sour, savory, and spicy. You can do anything you want, go nuts with your stir fry, but it comes down to getting those 5 things just right, and not over doing it (for instance; the more soy you add, the more sugar you'll need, and the more pungent you have to make it... Less is more. Less is always more my friends. No need for a cold war arms race in your wok. Less sodium and empty sugar calories too. It's just about the balance of flavors, and less is always more, especially when starting out; sprinkles and splashes, not cups and tablespoons).

I dig lemongrass. It's weird and woody, but fucking excellent. I tried lemongrass chicken in Vietnam, thought it was extremely unsubtle and crude, and overnight the experience fermented in my mind. The next day I had a craving for it, it was a strange phenomenon.

Sounds like good advice regarding the fish sauce. By the way, no ginger?

[Plastique]

My stir-fry "trick" is that I pre-cook the fresh garlic in the microwave (30s for 4 cloves) then slice or chop it. By then the garlic is mostly cooked and you can add it at the last second so you are sure it does not burn.

Hmm. I like my garlic browned at the beginning of the cooking.

[TalkingBook]

There is NOTHING more repulsive and offensive than the ubiquitous brown sauce stir fry, it is a pale and insulting imitation of real food. Okay, there are more repulsive and offensive things in the world, but not in the world of stir frys.

What's a brown sauce stir fry?

I think it's more or less what I described in my post. WC may be a kitchen wiz, and Thai cuisine is certainly a fine thing, but I don't really understand the repulsion to something as simple and tasty as the (admittedly ubiquitous) brown sauce.

[DRmeg378]

Is there a good online source for the basic mechanic (in terms of times and stuff) that I could apply WC's most excellent suggestions to?

[WC]

Mmmmmmmm... Chalky brown sauce.....

Yeah, I was ripping on you Talkingbook  I like the brown sauce, but not the standard fare from the chop suey take out variety. Hoisen, all kinds of iterations on hoisen and regional variations... Mmmmmmmmm... Juicy brown chalky pho sauce..... 海鮮elicious....

Come to think of it, if good quality pickled radish or galangal can't be had, I simply throw in regular old radishes, ginger, and or galangal, shredded/minced, into the beginning of the fry with the garlic and onion.

Now you take this home, throw it in a pot, add in some radishes, ginger, and galangal... Baby, you've got a stew going!

(click to show/hide)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lFZAyZPjV0

[David E.]

Is there a good online source for the basic mechanic (in terms of times and stuff) that I could apply WC's most excellent suggestions to?

All over the place, stir fry is one of those things that you have to do though.   

Talking about sauces.  This stuff is magic.  http://www.asiansupermarket365.com/Baba-s-Meat-Curry-Powder-p/cbmybz.htm

Mix that with some Chicken stock and Coconut Milk and you get a delcious soup base/dipping sauce.

[Plastique]

Is sriracha anything like Mexican hot sauce? Regardless, I'm going to try to track some down.

[David E.]

Is sriracha anything like Mexican hot sauce? Regardless, I'm going to try to track some down.

It's a chili sauce, should be easy to find, or just use the link above or the cheapest priced one to order some.  It tends to be able to last a while.  Harissa is a Moroccan version, but a much saltier spicy tomato and pepper sauce.  In my opinion Marissa is the best hot sauce.  I don't make pasta sauce without it.   

[Plastique]

Is sriracha anything like Mexican hot sauce? Regardless, I'm going to try to track some down.

It's a chili sauce, should be easy to find, or just use the link above or the cheapest priced one to order some.  It tends to be able to last a while.  Harissa is a Moroccan version, but a much saltier spicy tomato and pepper sauce.  In my opinion Marissa is the best hot sauce.  I don't make pasta sauce without it.   

So not like Mexican hot sauce?

[David E.]

Is sriracha anything like Mexican hot sauce? Regardless, I'm going to try to track some down.

It's a chili sauce, should be easy to find, or just use the link above or the cheapest priced one to order some.  It tends to be able to last a while.  Harissa is a Moroccan version, but a much saltier spicy tomato and pepper sauce.  In my opinion Marissa is the best hot sauce.  I don't make pasta sauce without it.   

So not like Mexican hot sauce?

Same but different, like everything else.

[WC]

Sriracha is nothing like Mexican hot sauce. It's different. It's special. It's a wonderful, beautiful, and a many blessed splendid thing that gives meaning to an otherwise vacuous and barren existence in this mortal coil.

It is the only evidence ever produced of a god or gods.

[Skepdad]

Red curry sauce and coconut milk makes a dandy Thai dish.

Got to try that one. I've heard of it, but never got around to getting the ingredients.

The recipe on the Thai Red curry paste is a really good start.

coconut milk
Thai red curry paste
brown sugar
fish sauce
ginger
vegetables (frozen peas, red/green pepper, thinly sliced onion or anything really)
thinly sliced chicken if wanted
little chicken broth with some corn starch for a silky texture
lime juice
shredded basil

I could write up a complete recipe if needed.