After spending an hour in the backyard weeding, my husband came out to tell me that it was time for our afternoon walk. We walk three miles a day together while I go for a mile more. I usually run the last mile while he stays in the car waiting for me. When we finished walking, I suggested that we order food at a restaurant for dinner. We were craving for shrimp and veggie lo mien stir fry. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed. We were disappointed!

So, I quickly thought of plan B. I remember I gathered some fresh Zucchinis from the garden when I was weeding. I thought I would make a veggie stir fry composed of zucchini, button mushrooms, asparagus, onions, and sweet tomatoes. We swung by at the store and bought the veggies I needed and strips of pork meat. I try to use meat sparingly in my cooking.

As soon as I got home, I washed half of the meat, about quarter of a pound, and marinated it 1 T of soy sauce, 1 t of rice wine, 1 t of cornstarch, 1 t of olive oil, and a pinch of sugar. Next, I washed the veggies, and sliced them into bite size. I put the wok on the stove and cranked the heat at the highest setting while I crushed the garlic and sliced the ginger. And to the wok, I added a tablespoon of oil, then I tossed in the onions, garlic, and ginger. I added the meat next, stirring occasionally for the next 5 minutes. Then I poured in all the veggies. I added a heaping tablespoon of black bean and garlic sauce (or more depending on your taste) to the wok for flavoring. I cooked the veggies for another 4 minutes until the veggies were half way done. I like my veggies crunchy and al dente. For the final touch, I poured two ounces of water in a bowl, dissolved a heaping teaspoon of cornstarch and added it to the dish. Let it simmer for another minute, mixing it all up. Then I poured the dish into a serving plate and my husband and I ate it with steamed rice. Sarap!

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