boy, I wish I had some Good Chinese - refrigerator roundup in just 10 steps.

so…here's another refrigerator round-up which i threw together last night after riding home my 9 mile [one way] trek from work via bicycle…it was late, late…as i so luckily ran into my friend leisy, out on her own set-o'-2wheels, and talked, and talked, in some parking lot with trees that kept spitting mangos at us while we sat, sharing both tears and laughter into the quiet of dusk. and then, i got home and christine rambled by to talk about her possibility of going to kenya and wanting to borrow a book to escape her daily humdrum and harassing me about my general hermitude and threatening to subscript me into her schnauzer nanny service. and the whole point is…as food is so often a topic of conversation around me [i had been pondering what i was going to make all. the way. home]…it was a late evening before starting dinner, and it was all christine's fault, because she was the one who said: chinese.

so here's my not-so-authentic [ie. i make things up as i go] official stir-fry. but it still satisfied my hungry belly in the end.

meatless goodness for protein:
10 ounces tofu, cubed
*see marinade prep below

crunchy vegetable goodness for goodness' sake:
prepare these first:
4 garlic cloves, chopped – separated in 2 small portions
½ inch finger of ginger, finely chopped – separated in 2 small portions

later, you will prepare these:
¼-½ red cabbage, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, quartered and cut into slivered half-moons
2-3 stalks celery, chopped on the diagonal
½ cup daikon radish, cut into thin rectangles
½ broccoli, finely chopped

----pay attention to this important separation----

1 orange pepper, cut into cubes

½ cup or more sugar snap peas [what i had], or more traditionally, snow peas
½ cup bean sprouts
4-5 scallions - greens and whites – chopped
¼-½ cup tree ear fungus, softened with boiling water: steep approx 15 minutes – toss with rice vinegar
3-4 shitake mushrooms, chopped

other stuff:
1 tbs or more arrowroot
approx. 4 tbs. grapeseed oil, separated
* important, grapeseed oil has a very high smoking point and is quite possibly the healthiest oil for frying as there is very little chemical alteration by the heat

first step: drain and towel press tofu [squeezing out as much water as possible ensures it can soak up any marinade]
prepare and marinate the tofu.

second step: chop the garlic and ginger

third step: prepare the marinade and cube the tofu

*marinade prep: [what i came up with chemistry lab-like that tasted pretty good]:
approx. ½ cup vegetable broth
approx. ¼ cup tamari or soy [i used a mushroom brewed soy sauce]
approx 1-2 tbs sriracha [whoo-hotstuff!] chili sauce
splash of mirin
splash of rice vinegar
splash of honey
½ portion of the ginger
½ portion of the garlic

toss all the marinade ingredients together in something sealable and large enough to include the cubed tofu. i used a covered bowl…and shake it, shake it, like a maniac. let it steep and do its thing while you prepare the veggies.

fourth step: chop and lay your veggies out next to the stove

fifth step: heat your wok…approx 20 seconds, or until a drop of water sizzles in the bottom of the pan

sixth step: pour ½ of the grapeseed oil in the wok

seventh step: when the oil is sizzling, flash fry the tofu until it is browned on all sides and crispy…mmmm.
when the tofu is done, remove to a bowl and wipe the wok clean [careful little hands]
***very important: reserve the marinade from the tofu, and stir in the tbs. of arrowroot to thicken the sauce***

eighth step: pour the second ½ of the grapeseed oil in the wok. add the veggies in the order in which they were listed to be prepared…the first group will take slightly longer than the second to cook…on average…good and crunchy but cooked veggies will take around 3 something minutes. so….3 minutes with the first batch, then throw the second batch in for 2 or so minutes. stir like a hungry fiend with your wooden spoon.

ninth step: when the veggies are expertly cooked, throw the tofu back in the wok. [here's where that reserved marinade comes in handy] toss the marinade in and cover the wok. let the goodness steam for just a short bit

tenth step: break out the chopsticks, serve over your favorite starch or by itself.
eat and be happy.