Time to Stir-fry!

8/30/2020

Now that we’ve gone over the staples, we can get into some cooking! Let’s start with a stir-fry. Stir-fries are great because they have pretty balanced nutrition, and they can be one pot meals if you don’t add a side. I cook for three different people with three different eating habits, so I try to make it as easy as possible for myself. I am a vegetarian, my husband is not, and my toddler eats almost anything...but only has a few teeth. This "recipe" came about because I kept getting mangoes from Misfits Market. I'm not a fan of raw mango, but I'm also not a fan of wasting food so I decided to experiment. A few months later, we hope we get mangoes from Misfits Market every week because we love these stir-fry dishes. (In this stir-fry, the mangoes, celery, peppers, limes, and onion came from Misfits Market.)

Here’s your stir-fry checklist (* next to my staples):

Canola oil*
Sesame Oil*
Rice Wine vinegar*
Low Sodium Tamari Sauce*
Ginger Powder*
Chopped Garlic*
Agave*
Lime (fresh lime or bottled lime juice)
Chicken
Eggs
Mango

Frozen Kale
2 Bell Peppers
1/2 an Onion
2 stalks of Celery
Cutting board
Knives
Peeler
Wok or Large nonstick pan
Wooden spoons
Fork
White Rice (optional)

Ok, now let’s get into it. Like I’ve said before, I don’t measure. First, I peel the mango and chop all the fruit and veggies. Usually, I’ll do it over the course of the day or the night before because I rarely have a chunk of uninterrupted time to get it all done at once. Lots of containers in the fridge! I keep everything in separate containers. For this meal, I cooked my rice ahead of time then reheated it for the meal. You can also cook the rice in a separate pot right before you cook your stir-fries. The stir-fries cook relatively quickly so you can cook your rice, and cover the finished rice to keep it warm while you cook your stir-fries. ( I try to use organic basmati rice from California because I've read it has the lowest arsenic levels.)

Next, I get the marinade ready. Canola oil, then sesame oil, then low sodium tamari sauce, then rice wine vinegar. I also add in the chopped garlic and ginger powder. I mix all this with a fork in a glass container. The one here holds three cups. (You can add the agave and lime juice to the marinade or add it when you are cooking.)

This is how it looks once it's mixed.

Then, I get the chicken ready. (Not my favorite thing to do since I’m vegetarian, but I do it anyway.) I always chop the veggies first so I can use the same cutting board for the raw chicken. I cut the chicken into bite sized chunks and put them in a glass container with the marinade. If everything else is ready to go, you can cook it right away. I usually like to let the chicken sit in the marinade for at least an hour, but overnight is probably the best. (Again, I’m going by what other people say because I’ve never eaten this chicken.)

Time to cook! I have two different pans going at once so each section below is one pan or wok.

Chicken Wok
1. Put canola oil and chopped onions in a pan or wok. Heat and stir them until the onions start to look cooked.

2. Add in the chicken, (and lime juice and agave if you didn't put it in the marinade). Stir everything together.

3. Add in the chopped fruit and veggies. Stir everything until the chicken is cooked. I usually cut a few pieces of chicken in half with the spoon while I'm cooking to check for doneness. The chicken is done when it cuts easily with the wooden spoon and is no longer pink inside.

Veggie Pan
1. Put canola oil and chopped onions in a pan or wok. Heat and stir them until the onions start to look cooked.

3. Add in the sesame oil, low sodium tamari sauce, rice wine vinegar, agave, lime juice, chopped garlic, powdered ginger, chopped fruit and veggies plus the frozen kale. Stir everything together.