Veg*n Cooking and Other Random Musings: Veggies with Spicy Chile-Garlic Sauce

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Veggies with Spicy Chile-Garlic Sauce

We don't often venture outside of Mexican food, when we do, it is generally some sort of Asian food. This is one of those "some sort of Asian food" posts. It's nothing against other cuisines, but beyond Mexican and Asian, we do Middle Eastern occasionally, and even more rarely, Italian food. I am one of those freaks of nature that has never really been too big of an Italian food fan. What can I say? Mexican has always been my favorite kind of food. I'm lucky I met Brett because he concurs on this as well.

This was really easy to make - it was our way of taking advantage of the remaining abundance from summer. September is one of the best times of year because it is harvest time! It's also the time when the staples of summer (tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.) are still hanging on, but on their way out, and the staples of fall (potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, etc.) are coming in full-force. It is the time of year to experience the best of both worlds.

Anywho, on to what you all really want - the food!

Just a reminder of the produce legend:
no asterisk = grocery store
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden



























The second picture is my dish with extra sriracha, 'cause I'm a freak like that.

I do have to say that I have a strong affinity for the bottle with the rooster on it. I love me some sriracha, it is one of the best things there is!

Veggies with Spicy Chile-Garlic Sauce

2 cups brown Basmati rice, cooked

Chile-Garlic Sauce:
1/4 cup water
4 tbsp shoyu (or other soy sauce)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp mirin
2 tbsp organic sugar
1-2 tbsp sriracha sauce (or 2 Thai chiles, seeded and minced)
a couple of pinches of salt
a couple of pinches of black pepper

Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Veggie Schtuff (all local!):
1 Japanese eggplant, cut into chunks *
1 zucchini, cut into chunks **
1 yellow summer squash, cut into chunks **
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, minced *
1/2 yellow onion, minced *
2 cups mung bean sprouts *
3 cloves of garlic, minced *

Heat a few tablespoons of safflower oil in a large skillet. Add the eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, shiitakes, and onion and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring often.

Add the bean sprouts, garlic, and sauce to the pan.

Simmer for about 5-8 minutes.

Serve over brown Basmati rice.

Yummy, yummy, yummy.

Tonight, we are doing a "breakfast for dinner" kind of thing. I made a vegan take on Huevos Rancheros awhile back, so tonight I am going to try making the "real thing", sans cheese of course. I rarely eat eggs, and will only eat them from one local purveyor who has a very small operation going, seems to treat the chickens quite well, and isn't doing anything on an environmentally degrading scale. We had some lying around and Brett had the Huevos Rancheros at a local restaurant called Cafe Berlin last weekend so he wanted me to try it out at home. We'll see how it goes.

'Til next time.

10 comments:

jessy said...

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm! the chili garlic sauce sounds awesome, Jennifer! i think dan & i would love that the most! and all local veggies?! wahoooooo! that's awesome! and the dish looks awesome, too! i'm partial to the photo with sriracha! ahahahaha! yay!

having breakfast for dinner = one of my absolute favorite things! sometimes we'll make a tempeh-veggie-hash and then i'll drizzle it all with maple syrup! breakfast dinners rock! now i'm craving one!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Oooh, that looks GOOD!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

My #1 favorite/most often eaten cuisine is definitely Italian; but every time I visit your blog, I crave Mexican like crazy, haha :0)

Catherine Weber said...

One of Dan's former bandmates calls sriracha "cock sauce." 'Cause of the rooster, you know. :) She used to bring a bottle of it on the road when they toured!

Anonymous said...

We're kind of the same - mexican, asian, Indian...though some comfort French & North American does get in there. I didn't realize how much Mexican-inspired cuisine we made until my nephew came to visit for a week and noticed we were always eating mexicana! Go figure!

J said...

Jessy - It was pretty tasty, and really easy. I was stoked too that it was all local, nothing rocks much harder than that. ;-)

I'm partial to the photo with the sriracha myself. I put that stuff on all sorts of things. I look forward to pizza night (aka Brett "cooks" night) 'cause I get to use the pizza as a vehicle for lots of sriracha. Hehe.

It IS good, I don't do it often enough. That has sounds good, I would have never thought to put something sweet on the hash. My mind always immediately goes to salsa. I have a one track spicy mind!

Melisser - Thanks, it was!

Veggie Girl - I wish I DID like Italian more - it would make going out to eat with family a lot easier, I really am a freak. Hahaha, I make myself crave more Mexican food.

Caterine - Hahaha Cock Sauce, I love it! It can even have a vulgar quality if your mind is in the gutter. I think I'd get along with that girl. I plan on taking a bottle with me when we go visit family over the holidays. Sriracha - don't leave home without it!

Shellyfish - We must be on the same food wavelength! I've never had French food to my knowledge, but there are some North American comfort foods that I still love: stuffing, mashed potatoes, and garlicky green beans are what come to mind right now.

That is too funny about your nephew. There are times when I look at our blog and think our food is pretty "one-sided", then I shrug it off, 'cause, well, I'm not going to change it, I love Mexican and Latin food!!

J said...

Jessy - I meant "hash" not "has"

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

this stir fry sounds delicious!

J said...

Lisa - Thanks, it was pretty good.

muebles madrid said...

It can't really have success, I suppose like this.