A few weeks ago I jilted you by not including any pictures with the Spicy Ginger Sauce post. This new post is my apology and a stir fry recipe featuring that yummy sauce. I think this sauce would even taste good on ice cream, seriously.
Spicy Ginger Bowl
- 1 package mushrooms, any variety
- 2 shallots, sliced fine
- 2 tsp reduced sodium Tamari, or soy sauce
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 package tempeh, steamed and cubed
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 C brown rice
- 2 C water
- 1 recipe spicy ginger stir fry sauce
- roasted peanuts, for garnish
First prep the rice, that’s gonna take up the bulk of your time (around an hour) to cook. Check out the package directions, but generally speaking, real brown rice of most kinds (Jasmine, Basmati) will take a 2:1 ratio, water to rice, and about 50-60 minutes to cook and set. I walk in the door from work, keep my coat on, get the rice ready to go, put it on the stove, and then walk the dog. When I come back, it feels like instant rice and I have checked something else off my list.
Steam the tempeh in a steaming device and let set. It will need just about 10 minutes or so. In a pinch I’ve steamed tempeh in my microwave in water, it didn’t seem to bother the outcome of the dish. Steaming the tempeh before consuming is one of the best veg tips I ever received. Number one, it takes out all the bitter and gives it a nice consistency and number two, some brands are not pre-cooked, and really need to be cooked prior to consumption. My fave is the wild rice variety made by Lightlife it’s super nutty and delish.
Mushrooms are funny in stir fry, they have a TON of moisture and I don’t like ’em all gummy, spongy steamin’ up my stir fry. I’d rather have them caramelized and yum, like candy. For the results in the picture, I took a package of baby portobello mushrooms, dry ‘washed’ them, removed the stem, sliced them and dropped them into a hot wok with the shallots, after the water reduced and they began crusting up on the outside, I hit them with 2 tsp of reduced sodium tamari and let that reduce. I removed them from heat, and set them aside, wiped out my wok, reheated it nice and hot again, then dropped in the diced pepper, cooked for 2-4 minutes then added the tempeh (which was already steamed, so it’s warm still and most importantly cooked). Let all ingredients get up to the same temp and then hit the whole wok with the spicy ginger stir fry sauce, let it reduce, reintroduce your shallot mushroom mix to the saucey love and serve the whole racket over the rice that is now conveniently done because you started it before you needed it. Top with the roasted peanuts.
I love bowls and stir fries as they let me be a lazy meal planner, AND with just a sauce recipe, you can really add anything you want to the mix from the fridge and come out with a sound meal. I own a nonstick wok from Pampered Chef, I’ve had it since, well, forever and it’s still nonstick. It’s a nice size for more than just stir fry (sometimes I make soup in it if my Dutch oven is dirty-I told you I was lazy), this brand is particularly solid, so the heat distributes well and I rarely need to use oil as long as I heat it up well before I add ingredients. You could easily use a skillet in its place if you would like to cook in batches…too much in the skillet and your stir fry will become a stir steam. Not good.
Veg Bon Vivant 