Stir Fried Vegetables with Sichuan Flavours
An easy vegetable and noodle stir-fry with a homage to Sichuan province…
Here’s a quick meat-free stir fry dish. I say meat-free because I forgot to buy some for it! Once again I had to scrape the proverbial barrel that is my bachelor refrigerator and throw a meal together. Well, I had an onion, half a pak choi, three field mushrooms and that was it on the fresh food front (try saying that quickly!) True to form my stock of dry ingredients saved the day and out came some hokkien noodles, wood ear mushrooms, chillies, soy sauce and Sichuan peppercorns.
Sichuan peppercorns are a long time favourite of mine, one of the oldest of all Chinese spices it has an incredible aroma and lends a fiery spice to any dish. The peppercorns personify the food of the Sichuan province; fragrant, hot and moorish. Unlike many dishes from other regions of China, Sichuan food can shock the senses and I often think that’s missing from Chinese food.
As with all stir-fries the success (or failure) lies in the preperation. I make sure everything I need is ready to go before I crank the wok up and start cooking. Always start with the ingredients which will take longest to cook and try to ensure that vegetables are cut into even slices so that everything cooks through in quick succession. Onions, fresh ginger and chopped garlic flavoured the oil until the onion began to soften, pak choi went in next along with the chillies. The wood ears had softened in the hot water and the noodles had been pre cooked so once the fresh mushrooms had gone in and cooked for a minute or so I added the rest of the ingredients. You have to be careful if you’re using both sechuan pepper and chilli because they don’t take any prisoners, keep the ingredients moving and the heat constant. A splash of shaoxing or dry sherry wouldn’t go amiss and make sure you season well with soy sauce. If you want some sauce with your meal simply strain the mushroom soaking liqour through a sieve and add some to the wok, a little diluted cornflour/starch will bring everything together.
Sechuan Style Vegetables
Miles,
Super-duper photo and good advice about store cupboard ingredients…. lord knows I’ve probably got thousands of unopened packets and jars. I’m terrible for buying unusual and exotic ingredients then forgetting all about them at the back of the pantry…. a crime to be sure.
I’ve just popped over to Melissa’s to declare the annual rose hip syrup making tradition a success. For a moment there were pips and orange pulp flying all over the kitchen which prompted a hasty clean up session… don’t want any nasty stains on my beloved worktop!
Now sit down and calm yourself…. the excitement isn’t good for a man of your age (
) when I tell you I’ve harvest my first butternut squash. Small it may be, tough as old boot quite likely, but it’s taken the best part of a year and half a garden to grow 
Next year of course, I shall be even better prepared and propose to cultivate a huge specimen…. better book the coach and horses now!
Cid
October 27, 2009 @ 8:39 pm
Miles,
I find these posts very inspirational and useful. How often is it that we find ourselves with just a few food items left in the fridge and wonder what we could do with them? If we can’t imagine anything, we go out especially to purchase a few other things. And so it goes on.
Like Cid, I find all sorts of things in my store cupboard and will have to get much better at using them up.
Perhaps we should try a week (or longer depending on the size of your larder) of living completely from our store cupboard, fridge and freezer? I think I will have a go. How about you, Cid ? Your butternut squash will be a great start
Anne
October 27, 2009 @ 9:16 pm
Anne,
An excellent notion… we’ll feast on my butternut for starters, well more of a garnish really
Still never mind, the cupboard will provide and I intend to delve into mine with gusto …. although dear Gusto the gardener may have other ideas 
Cid
October 27, 2009 @ 9:49 pm
Cid,
Well done on the butternut, it’s been a long journey! Hope you make the most of it!!
Miles
October 27, 2009 @ 10:21 pm
Anne,
A good idea, you should try it. I find it concentrates the mind and makes you a better cook for it.
Miles
October 27, 2009 @ 10:23 pm
Miles,
I really love your Asian cooking, substantially because it’s based on your travels and experiences. A genuine, really/ wanna know question is; have you ever been able to source those ‘facing heaven’ Sichuanese chillis (chao tian jiao) that Fuscia is always writing about? I’ve seen them sold dried in an online store in London but they are mentally expensive.
GDave
October 28, 2009 @ 1:19 am
PS. Yikes I thought I closed that HTML tag!
October 28, 2009 @ 1:20 am
GDave,
Thanks, I’ve got a nice Singapore curry recipe to come soon Watch this space!
As for the chillies, sorry mate, no go. To be honest though it’s not going to make a massive difference if you substitute other chillies or a combimnation of different ones.
Miles
October 28, 2009 @ 4:19 pm