Stir Fry Sauces

Stir Fry Sauce is a basic combination of four tastes.The flavors should be balanced so that no one overwhelms the others. This usually means there is about 3 to 4 times more wine than soy. The sour and sweet are usually in smaller amounts;
Salt - usually Soy Sauce in one form or another, ie Thick, Thin, etc.
Bitter - Wine - Cooking Sherry, Mirin, Sake, Chinese Cooking Wine (also adds saltiness), etc.
Sour - Vinegar in whatever form you like (balsamic, rice wine vinegar), OJ (combines sour & sweet)
Sweet - Sugar, agave,

Then you can add other flavors like fermented black beans (makes it saltier), peanut butter, almond butter, chili, garlic, herbs, etc.The Corn Starch is only used for thickening. It doesn't add any appreciable taste (unless it's undercooked, and then it's not particularly good.Likewise, the Sesame Oil doesn't add much taste if it's cooked along with everything (just adds extra calories and oiliness). It's meant to be used as perfume, and should be added just after the dish is taken off the heat. Only a small amount is necessary.

Basic Stir Fry sauce
(makes for 2)
1 1/ 2 tsp. sesame oil
1/ 2 tsp. minced garlic
1/ 2 tsp. minced ginger
1/ 2 cup broth
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1/ 8 tsp. Tabasco
1/ 2 tsp. salt
1/ 4 tsp. pepper
1 1/ 2 tsp. lemon or lime juice
1 1/ 2 tsp.cornstarch
1 Tbs. rice wine or sherry

Heat the sesame oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry 15-30 second over medium heat to bring out the flavor. Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bring just to a boil, stirring. Dissolve the cornstarch in the wine and whisk into the sauce. Heat until sauce thickens and reaches a full boil. Simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Garlic Sesame Stri fry sauce
(makes for 2)
1/ 2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. soy sauce
3 Tbs. broth
1 Tbs. sugar
2 1/ 4 tsp. lemon juice
1/ 3 cup sesame oil
2 1/ 4 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 1/ 2 tsp. water

Combine the pepper, soy sauce, chicken broth, sugar and lemon juice. In a small saucepan heat the sesame oil. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute until soft but not browned. Add the soy sauce mixture and bring just to a boil. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let boil 20 seconds. Remove from the heat.

10 Minute Stir-Fry Sauce
3 tablespoons tamari sauce or soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1-2 tablespoons chili-garlic hot sauce
2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste (or 3 cloves minced garlic and 1 small piece ginger minced)
3-4 tablespoon ketchup

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add 2 vegetable bouillon cubes. After the cubes dissolve, add 3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon chili-garlic sauce, 2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste and 3-4 tablespoons ketchup. Cook on medium heat and bring to a boil.

or use 2 tbsp of brown sugar instead of the ketchup, throw in a little peanut butter to thicken the sauce.

Simple asian sauce
soy sauce
sugar to taste
orange or lime juice
S + P
cornstarch to thicken it

Vietnamese Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice or white vinegar
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup fresh or canned pineapple chunks
3 tablespoons
sugar
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce, chopped fresh hot chilies, dried red chili flakes, or other hot sauce

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a mini food processor or a blender and blend until smooth. Serve in small bowls at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Makes about 2/3 cup.

Thai Stir-fry Sauce
3 to 4 T low sodium soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1/3 c. filtered water, vegetable stock
2 T. Natural peanut butter (smooth)
1 jalapeño pepper (deseeded)
2 cloves garlic
, chopped
2 T scallions, chopped
1 t. ginger, chopped
2 T Mirin (sweet sake)
2 fresh mint leaves (1/4 t. dried)
1 T chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients in a blender, blending until smooth.

Basic Miso Soup

For about 4 servings, you need:

* 4 cups of basic dashi stock (see below)
* 1/3 - 1/2 cup of miso
* gu or extra ingredients (see note below)

Heat up the dashi if it's cooled. Simmer any hard ingredients, such as potatoes or daikon radish until tender.

Add any ingredients that don't need any cooking, such as wakame seaweed or tofu.

Take the miso in a ladle, and add a little bit of the hot stock, Mix the miso and stock together in the ladle with a chopstick until the miso is dissolved. This step ensures that there will be no lumps. (Go easy on the miso amount at first, and taste. If you need to add more you can.)

Dissolve the miso mixture in the soup. Don't let it boil or the flavor will dissipate. Serve immediately.

Here are some easy ingredients combinations, or gu, that you can put in the miso soup:

* Cubed tofu and presoaked wakame seaweed cut into small pieces. (A very easy to handle brand of wakame is "Fueru Wakame-chan", available in Japanese or Asian food stores. It comes in precut form in little pouches. Wakame can also be used in seaweed salad. Soak it briefly before using - oversoaking makes it slimy.
Hint: to cube tofu so that it doesn't fall apart, cut it up on a wet chopping board and slide it in the pan slowly, or else cut it up on the palm of your hand.
* Cubed potatoes (simmered in the soup until tender) and wakame. This is one of my favorites in the cold months.
* Julienned daikon radish, simmered until tender.
* Julienned cabbage, simmered until tender.
* Sliced button or shiitake mushrooms, or canned nameko mushrooms., with tofu and some chopped green onion added just before serving.



Vegetarian / Vegan dashi (Japanese stock)

Mizu dashi (water dashi) with kombu
My preference is for a simple kombu based stock, which can be made quite easily by soaking a piece of good quality kombu in water in a closed container overnight in the fridge. Put about a 30cm / 12 inch long piece of kombu in about 2 litres (8 cups) of filtered water. This is more kombu than for the regular kombu and katsuobushi stock, since the kombu has to produce all the umami on its own. If you don’t have time to soak it overnight, you can soak it for a minimum of half an hour at room temperature.

To use, bring the dashi up to a simmer (not a full boil), then take out the kombu. This produces a light colored, subtly flavored dashi. The soaked kombu can be cooked further until soft, and used in stewed dishes and the like.

Dashi using shiitake mushrooms and kombu
If the kombu dashi is too subtle for you, you can try tossing in a couple of good quality dried (never fresh) shiitake mushrooms in the water. This needs to be soaked for at least a couple of hours, or until the shiitake are quite soft. This will produce a light brown colored dashi with an assertive shiitake flavor, which is especially suitable for dishes that will include the shiitake. The soaked shiitake can be used in your dish.

Saving the soaking liquid from shiitake mushrooms
Finally, if you are using shiitake mushrooms for a dish and reconstituting them anyway, save the soaking liquid to use as dashi in the future. I keep the cut off hard stems in it to extract a bit more flavor. It will keep for a few days in the fridge, or can be frozen. (I freeze it in small ziplock bags, laid flat.)

Instant Miso Soup on Go

All you need is a source of boiling water at lunchtime. Put the miso ball and ingredients in the bowl (or you can use a mug), add hot water, and let it sit for a few minutes while the ingredients expand and flavors amalgamate.

The basic rules

* If the added ingredients are salty, use 1 teaspoon miso for an average size miso bowl (which contains about 3/4 cups, or 180ml, of liquid). If the added ingredients are not salted, use 2 teaspoons. Put the miso paste in a twist of plastic wrap.
* Dried ingredients like wakame and finely chopped up ingredients can be combined directly in the miso.
* More watery ingredients like spinach leaves should be carried separately (just tuck them in a corner of your bento box).
* Big dried ingredients should also be carried separately - e.g. komachi-bu, dried wheat gluten.

Some ideas for miso ball miso soups

* Wakame: 1 miso ball combined with a pinch of dried wakame seaweed
* Finely chopped green onion with a 2 tsp. miso ball.
* A small umeboshi with a 1 tsp. miso ball. Interesting sour-salty combo.
* Baby spinach leaves with 2 tsp. miso ball
* Shredded lettuce with 2 tsp. miso ball
* Your favorite furikake with a 1 tsp. miso ball
* Shredded nori and a 2 tsp. miso ball
* Komachi-bu is a small form of fu, dried wheat gluten. It expands in hot water, and has an interesting texture. Use with a 2 tsp. miso ball, perhaps with some green onions.
* Finely cut aburaage (fried bean curd) with a 2 tsp. miso ball
* A spoonful of mixed frozen vegetables (the classic carrots-and-peas for example) with a 2 tsp. miso ball
* A spoonful of frozen or canned corn with a 2 tsp. miso ball

Instant Mediterranean vegetable soup concentrate

makes about 10 portions

1 medium onion
1 garlic clove
1 large green pepper
1 large red pepper
1 fennel bulb
1 medium carrot
2 stalks of celery
1 big bunch of parsley
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 small (1 lb or 400g) can of crushed tomatoes
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
2 tsp. salt and 1 vegetable stock cube, OR 1 Tbs. salt

Chop up all of the vegetables fairly finely but not too finely. You can do this in a food processor, or just chop by hand.

Heat up a heavy bottomed pot with the olive oil. Add all the vegetables, and sauté until limp.

Add the can of tomatoes and tomato paste, plus a little water (rinse out the can and pour that water in). Add the herbs, salt and stock cube. Bring to a boil, then simmer over a low heat until the mixture has reduced to about 1/4th, stirring up from the bottom occasionally to prevent it from burning. The moisture should be just about gone, and it should look like a very thick vegetable-studded sauce. The cooking down process takes about half an hour or more, so you’ll want to do this when you can be around the kitchen to check up on its progress.

Let the mixture cool, and take out the bay leaf. If you taste it at this point it should be quite salty - too salty to eat on its own, since you will be diluting it with hot water.

Wrap up 2 tablespoon portions in plastic wrap, put the packets in a zip bag, and freeze. . Squeeze out the contents of the defrosted packet into a mug or bowl. Add boiling water. Mmm, piping hot veggie soup.


Notes

Adding some precooked pasta and beans will turn this into a minestrone!

The plastic wrap packet does tend to leak a bit once the mixture has defrosted, so be sure not to carry it on its own. Yu may want to put it inside a divider cup in your bento if you don’t want the surrounding food to be tomato-stained.

There’s a lot of salt in this, because it is a concentrate. If you want to regulate the salt more, omit it from the concentrate and add salt to taste when you mix up your cup of soup. Sprinkling in some dried herbs when mixing will help with that too.

Freeze it in ice cube trays. Ice cube trays will hold 2 tablespoon portions and then the soup cubes can be stored in one plastic bag or storage bowl with lid.

Lasagna Ideas

vegetarian "white" lasagnas with bechamel, ricotta, parmesan, garlic, herbs and whatever veggies are in season. My favorites are spinach; zucchini and fresh oregano, marjoram, and a little basil; or eggplant, fresh tomato, basil and sage.

Bechamel Sauce (Flour Based) and Variations

Sauce to serve with meals or as topping. Semi-liquid béchamel sauce can be poured over vegetables, rice, etc. (esp goes well with roasted asparagus)

Pour over Casseroles for Vegetable, pasta and fish bakes. Top with béchamel and breadcrumbs or béchamel and cheese and bake. Especially can be used for creaming in macaroni cheese, lasagne and moussaka, au gratin potatoes, spinach or chard gratin etc

Basic white sauce (Bechamal)

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. butter (or clarified Ghee or Vegan Butter like eartbalance)
2 Tbsp. flour (whole Wheat Flour or Vital Wheat Gluten would work as well)
1 cup milk or soy milk
dash salt
dash white pepper
1 pinch nutmeg (Optional)

Preparation:
In heavy saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Stir in flour with a wire whisk. Cook over low heat for three minutes, stirring constantly (This mixture is called a roux). Do not allow the mixture to brown. Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly. Cook over low heat for 3-5 more minutes until sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat when the sauce is sufficiently thick – it should coat the back of a spoonSeason to taste. Makes 1 cup.

extra notes:
Once you've heated the butter and flour, add the milk very slowly, while stirring. The flour will bubble and expand; stir vigorously to keep lumps from forming. Should they form anyway, reduce the flow of milk to a trickle until you've stirred them out. Once you've added all the milk, stir the sauce slowly over a moderate flame until it thickens. Depending upon what you plan to use it for, you may wish to season it with salt and pepper to taste.

OR To avoid getting lumps, let the flour and butter form a paste that comes off the sides of the pan when you add the first bit of milk. If not, cheat and use a blender.

Healthier Version:
Replace the flour with cornflour, leave out the butter, and use semi-skimmed or skimmed milk. Mix 40g of cornflour and 500ml of milk in a bottle and shake vigorously, then thicken over a low heat.

Flavouring béchamel:
Add seasoning and flavouring to béchamel at the end of cooking so you get the quantity right.

Mornay Sauce:
Add 1/2 cup of grated Swiss, Gruyere or Emmanthal cheese after sauce thickens. Remove from heat and whisk until melted and smooth.

Onion White Sauce
Cook 1 Tbsp. minced onion in the butter until translucent. Then add the flour and continue with the recipe.

Mustard White Sauce
Whisk in 1-2 tsp. prepared mustard after the sauce is thickened.

Brown Sauce
When cooking the flour and butter mixture together, stir constantly and cook until the mixture begins to turn brown. Use stock instead of the milk.

Curry Sauce
Add 1-3 tsp. of curry powder (to taste) to the butter and simmer for 1 minute before adding the flour. Continue with the recipe as directed.

Tips:

1. To make the standard Béchamel, after adding the milk to the medium white sauce recipe add 1 small onion studded with 3 cloves, a bay leaf, and a grating of nutmeg.
2. Light stock, cream, or a combination may be used in place of the milk.
3. Add more flavor by seasoning with celery salt, nutmeg, a teaspoon of lemon juice, onion juice, or sherry, or a few tablespoons of chopped chives or parsley

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Sauerkraut on Rye Recipe

Ingredients

* 2 slices dark rye bread
* Several thin slices of aged, Gruyere Swiss cheese
* 1/3 cup drained and heated sauerkraut
* 2 teaspoons of butter

Method

1 Heat a frying pan to medium high heat. For each slice of bread, butter one side and place slice butter side down on the hot pan.

2 Add a layer of cheese to one of the slices. As the bread begins to toast just slightly, and the cheese begins to soften, spread the heated sauerkraut over the slice of bread with cheese. Using a spatula, flip the cheese-less bread slice over on top of the slice with cheese and sauerkraut.

3 After 30 sec or so, check to see if the cheese is just beginning to melt. If it is, flip the whole sandwich over onto the other side. Toast a minute more or less on that side until the cheese has melted, but isn't runny. Remove the sandwich from the pan. Slice in half.

Serves one.