Vegetable Lo Mein

I love Chinese food. Fried Rice, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Lo Mein, Crab Rangoon, I love it all. When Chris is out of town I hit China Fuji. Hit. It.
I order one of everything I love, rush back to the house, find a serving platter to eat from and then gorge myself into a food coma.

Its kind of embarrassing.

See, Chris believes, with all of his heart, that the chefs at Chinese restaurants prowl the neighborhood for stray kitties and pups. When I tear into a teriyaki beef skewer he's convinced I'm chowing on black beauty.

Quick son, to the stables!


Needless to say we don't order out.

The other night Chris was working late and that familiar craving came calling. I had a bunch of CSA veggies in the fridge (they come faster that we can eat em!), some left over noodles and voila:



If that doesn't tickle your fancy then there is something wrong with you.

Seek help.

But if it does...

Here is what you will need:
8 ounces cooked whole wheat spaghetti
3 tablespoons evoo
1 handful sliced mushrooms
1 handful broccoli, chopped
1 handful cauliflower, chopped
1 handful snap peas
1 green onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Ok, I know that ingredient list looks overwhelming. But think of the leftovers you'll use up!

Oh and Hoisin Sauce, its a must. The combination of soybeans, vinegar and chili peppers give the dish a sweet/ salty/ spicy combo of flavor that you cant go without. Find it in the Asian aisle at your local market.

Heat oil in a large wok or saute pan. Stir fry mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, onion and peas until tender.
Mix cornstarch and broth in a small bowl and add to stir fry.
Stir in hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger and cayenne. Cook stirring gently until thickened and bubbly. Add cooked spaghetti, and toss.
How easy is that?

And best of all: no puppies, kitties or ponies were harmed in the making of this recipe.

Traditional Fried Rice

Sometimes I crave Chinese food. I think its safe to say Liam got most of his in utero nutrients from cereal, sweet tea and fried rice. Not the healthiest of combinations but you try reasoning with a hormonal pregnant woman with a green light to devour what ever she pleases. And to make matters of temptation worse I worked retail in the mall for my last trimester. IN THE MALL.

Enter: the Food Court.

A buffet of culinary misfits that I, for one, cannot resist. And let me tell you, my friends, Southpoint mall has the Le Bernadin of food courts.

If loving a food court is wrong, I don't want to be right.

I don't even remember the name of the Chinese joint there but I got down with some fried rice, probably around once a week. And it wasn't even good, it was greasy and salty and I'm pretty sure the veggies were, at one point, freeze dried. Shocking, I know. I no longer work in the mall and that green light has faded to and ugly shade of

Of course I still crave fried rice. But in our little town we've only got two choices for Chinese and they're both fairly dangerous. And by dangerous I mean, you're probably not eating chicken.

Seriously.

After some tinkering I came up with a pretty awesome fried rice recipe that you can feel good about and totally enjoy eating. Now if I could just perfect the Crab Rangoon I'd never have to step foot in a Chinese restaurant again.

This recipe is so versatile you can easily add and subtract ingredients according to what you have in the fridge. Some of my favorite combinations are beef and broccoli, pork and snap peas and the one featured below.

Here is what you will need:

1 Tablespoon oil
2-3 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 lb raw sliced pork or chicken
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large carrot, diced
1/4 cup green onion, sliced
1 large rib celery, diced
2 eggs
2-3 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

I should admit now that my quantities in the the pictures to follow do not represent the recipe. I only had a cup and a half of rice in the house so I adjusted accordingly.

You will want to prep all of the ingredients first because once we start adding things to the pan it moves very quickly.


REAL Chicken is yummy. So as you can see I'm using thinly sliced chicken breast. This will ensure quick and even cooking not to mention I just prefer it this way.


Over medium heat add oil and garlic to pan.

Add chicken (or pork) cook 3 to 5 minutes.

Push the chicken to one side of the pan and add raw eggs,

Scramble about 30 seconds.

Add celery, onion and carrot

Cook until tender. About another 3 minutes.

Add rice, soy sauce, sugar and salt. Stir all ingredients until heated through.

Now go into your pantry and find that basket of take out packets. I know you have one. Everyone has one. If you don't you should start one. They're perfect for occasions such as this. Dig around for a duck sauce to top your fried rice with.

Best of all, when you go back for seconds, it won't be because you're hungry again. It will purely be for the enjoyment.