stir fry is a great because it’s quick and easy to make with any number of ingredients. also, it incorporates two very fun things: stirring and frying.
stir fry was to be my dinner tonite but, unfortunately, i napped through dinner time. i decided to make it anyway so i’d have a savo(u)ry lunch tomorrow. of course, there are many different versions of stir fry, and you can make it to your taste, but here’s mine. i won’t bother to include exact measures of each ingredient i used because i never pay attention and so i don’t know. use your good judgement and you’ll be fine.
- half a decently-sized eggplant
- a handful of mushroom
- some broccoli
- two scallion stalks
- some celery stalks
- celery heart (keep this separate from the more plebeian stalks)
- garlic (3 cloves?)
- some sort of chili pepper, i used half a jalapeno
- salt
- sesame seeds
- basil
- vegetable oil
- soy sauce
- cube the eggplant.
- keep the eggplant in a bowl, lightly salt and mix, keep to the side.
- chop everything else up.
- pour off any water that comes out of the eggplant
- cover the eggplant in a little bit of oil, mix.
- leave the kitchen, turn on some music.
- heat oil in your pan or walk (high).
- once the oil is about as viscous as water and is just beginning to steam, add the garlic, chili pepper, basil, scallion, and sesame seeds.
- cook, stirring attentively, until the sesame seeds pop.
- add the eggplant and stir so that everything is well mixed.
- cover the pan and lower the heat to medium.
- every now and then stir the mixture and check on the eggplant. i like to continue this until the smallest pieces of eggplant are just becoming soft all the way through.
- add the celery and mushrooms.
- add a few splashes of soy sauce.
- mix and cover again.
- wait the same amount of time as the previous cover cycle.
- add the broccoli, mix, cover.
- give it two more mixing cycles.
- eat.
you can also separately boil rice and add it in. i would increase the initial amount of oil added and then add the rice between steps 13 and 14 and also increase the amount of soy sauce splashed.
i chose the times above (after gathering much empirical data, clearly) because i like my eggplant to be soft and squishy; the broccoli juicy and crisp. if you have another vegetable texture preference, you can adjust the cooking time accordingly.
