Foodie Friday #3: delicious cilantro-chili stir-fry

The first year that I had my own apartment, stir-fry was one of my two staple foods, but I never ate it the same way twice. That is partly because of my “measurement? what’s that?” attitude toward savoury cooking, but mostly because with all the hundreds of different ways you can sautee vegetables and protein, perhaps with rice or noodles either mixed in directly or serving as a base, why on earth would I want to repeat myself? However, tonight’s stir-fry? I will repeat.

During that same year of the first apartment, I found a jar of cilantro-chili “pesto” that I’ve never seen since and still miss. Tonight, I decided to try to duplicate it, or at least cook up something similar. I threw a bunch of cilantro, a couple of chiles, most of a head of garlic, and some ginger into the food processor, with a few tablespoons of avocado oil and lime juice for moisture. (Incidentally, avocado oil? I’ve been missing out for all but the past week of my life. It makes the best salad dressing I’ve ever had, I think.) Blended all of that into a thick, colourful sauce.

Then I stir-fried up my veggies with a shallot for company, mixed in the sauce and a bit of omelet for protein and coconut rice for starch.

Cilantro-chili “pesto”

1 bunch of cilantro

2 chiles (I used long red chiles, but you could vary this easily – or use more)

2″ piece of ginger, peeled

10 garlic cloves

2 Tbsp avocado oil

juice of 1 lime

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree.

Green stir-fry:

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 boiled potatoes, sliced

1/2 head of green cabbage

1 cup green beans

2 cups mushrooms

1 smallish bag of baby spinach

1 shallot

2-4 eggs, beaten with soy sauce

salt to taste

In a skillet, heat some vegetable and/or sesame oil; pour in the beaten eggs. As the bottom cooks, lift with a spatula and tip the pan to let the uncooked eggs onto the bottom of the pan. When completely cooked, slice into pieces and set aside.

In a wok or skillet, again heat some vegetable and/or sesame oil. Begin by sauteeing the shallots and garlic until golden; add the cabbage and mushrooms and cook for about five minutes, and then add the sliced potatoes. Stir fry everything for another five minutes or so, then add the green beans. Salt to taste (I very rarely add salt to stir fries, but I’m told that I should). When the beans are cooked to your taste, add the spinach and cilantro-chili “pesto”; turn the heat off, and stir to distribute the sauce evenly and let the spinach wilt. Serve over rice or noodles.

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