Crafty Meals – easy recipes for healthy meals

Vegetables should make the bulk of any wok dish, but which vegetables are suitable?
We have found many vegetables to be suitable for stir frying, but those most suitable are not high in apparent moisture. Vegetables like snow peas, sugar snap peas, beans, bean sprouts, bok/pak/sum choy, spinach leaves,  carrots, zuchinni, celery, brocolli, cauliflower, capsicums, onions, green onions and baby corn are tough enough to take being tossed around over high heat without collapsing and turning to mush.

Mushrooms are of course not vegetables, but they have the ability to take up all the flavours in the wok, and their addition to wok cooked meals is sound nutrtition.

How long should I be cooking these vegetables?
Again, not vegetables, but mushrooms can be added very early in the cooking of the dish. They soak up and carry the flavours with every mouthful, making them a cheap extender in place of meats.

With the exception of zuchinni, bean sprouts and the leafy vegetables, all of the vegetables listed above are able to take the heat and cooking during the 7 or so minutes a wok dish is cooked.

The zuchinni, bean sprouts and the leafy vegetables are best added for the final minute or two, just enough time to warm through or wilt the leaves without turning them to mush.

How do I prepare these vegetables?
Always wash vegetables throughly before use. They do carry bacteria, pesticide residues and other nasties on their skins.

Onions – the mainstay of all wok dishes, if the recipes doesn’t list onions, add them anyway. Full of antioxidants and featuring in so many “old wives” remedies, adding them can’t do any harm. Trim both ends, remove the outer layer of skin. I like to slice mine into thin wedges. The only real rule with using onions is if they are not cut thin they will not cook and will give you an unpleasant taste when you bite into them.

Mushrooms – It’s not a vegetable, but so good for you. Many will tell you not to wash mushrooms, just wipe them with a damp sponge. They are commercially farmed in manure – I prefer to wash mine. Remove stems and discard (or freeze for use in stocks later). Slice thickly. 

Snow Peas, Sugar Snap Peas – Wash well and drain. Both have a stringy membrane that runs across the top and bottom. To remove this, trim one end without cutting through and pull back with the knife. Repeat with the other end. Cut into desired size.

Beans – wash and top and tail (trim both ends). Cut into bite size pieces.

Bean shoots – Rinse well. Restaurants often pinch out the tips and the root tip to make them more presentable, but in all honesty could you be bothered?

Bok/Pak/Sum Choy, Spinach – wash and pat dry. Remove stems and slice thinly. Tear leaves.

Capsicums – halve and discard seeds, stem and any light coloured membrane. Cut into large dice or slice thinly.

Zuchinni and Carrots- Wash then halve lengthways, trim both ends. Slice thinly on the diagonal. There is no need to peel these vegetables.

Celery – wash and slice thinly across the stems. If you want to julienne the celery use a peeler to remove the string that sits on the outer of each ridge on the stems.

Brocolli and Cauliflower – wash well, then remove the main stalks holding the edible flowers. Look carefully at these and you will see you can repeat the process until you break them down into manageable pieces. Best to break them down as the thicker stems tend not to cook in stir frys and they can be tough to chew.

Green onions – also known as shallots and spring onions and are often used as a garnish. Wash, trim the root end and discard the green leaf from where it begins to seperate from itself. Cut into 3-4 cm long lengths, then carefully quarter or eighth lengthways.

Baby Corn – not really baby corn, just a miniature variety. Convenient in cans, needs to be drained and even rinsed if the brine is too salty. Fresh, they need just a minute or two in boiling water to soften them before tossing them in the wok.

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