Recipe - Basic Stir-Fried Vegetables

1 pound Vegetables
3 sl Fresh ginger root
One fourth (up to)
One half cup Stock
1 tablespoon Soy sauce
One half teaspoon Sugar
2 tablespoon Oil
One half teaspoon Salt

1. Prepare vegetables as indicated in the instructions below. (They may be
prepared individually, or as in the suggested combinations, see "Basic
StirFried Vegetable Combinations".) Mince or crush ginger root.

2. Combine stock, soy sauce and sugar.

3. Heat oil. Add salt, then ginger root, and stirfry a few times. Add
vegetable (adjust heat to prevent scorching). Stirfry to coat with oil and
heat through.

4. Add stocksoy mixture and heat quickly. Then simmer, covered, over
medium heat until vegetable is done. (See "Cooking Instructions for
Specific Vegetables".) VARIATIONS:

1. For the ginger root, substitute 1 garlic clove, minced, or 1 scallion
stalk, cut in One half inch sections. (With strongertasting vegetables such as
cabbage, ginger root is better than garlic.)

2. For the oil, substitute chicken fat, bacon fat or lard. (Chicken fat is
particularly good with Chinese cabbage and Chinese lettuce; bacon fat with
other varieties of lettuce.)

3. For the mixture in step 2, substitute 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon
sugar, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoons sherry, One half cup water and 1 to 2
slices fresh ginger root, minced. (Omit the ginger root in step 3.)

4. Omit the soy sauce in step 2. Then, after step 3, sprinkle the soy sauce
over the vegetables and stir in. Add the stock and sugar as in step 4.

5. After step 3, stir into the vegetables One fourth to One half teaspoon shrimp sauce.

6. In step 4, add One fourth cup dried shrimp or scallops (soaked), shredded. (The
soaking water may be substituted for the stock.)

7. After step 4, thicken the sauce with a cornstarch paste made of 1
teaspoon cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold stock or water.

8. Serve the vegetables garnished with blanched, toasted and coarsely
chopped almonds or walnuts.

From The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook, ISBN 0517658704. Downloaded
from Glen's MM Recipe Archive, http://www.erols.com/hosey.