Stir fries are a great way to use little bits of leftover vegetables and leftover noodles. The vegetable bits that are left from when you need 1/2 an onion, or you need 2 TBSP bell pepper are perfect for a simple, quick meal, since you never need a lot of anything for a good stir fry. You need a little of this and or a little of that. So, on "Clean out the Fridge Day" in our house, we found a little of this and a little of that calling out to be turned into something fantastic.
We are not going to give you exact amounts of anything in this recipe for several reasons. First, this is what we had on hand that evening and we did not measure any of it. Secondly, you may have other ingredients that sound good to you that you want to add or some that you want to omit. Third, this is meant as a guideline and idea-building post that will allow you to try something new and feel confident in the ease and success of it. Lastly, this is from our weekly "clean out the fridge" activity, and each time we make a stir fry, we change ingredients. This is a guideline, so please feel free to use your own ideas and then share with us so we can try something else, too.
For this recipe, all the ingredients are optional and interchangeable. If we were cooking a more authentic vegetable stir fry, we would have steamed all the ingredients separately, then, made the sauce and then combined everything. This dish took about 15 minutes to make, including cutting up the vegetables.
Onion
Red Bell Pepper
Scallions
Garlic
Soy Sauce
Oil
Mushrooms
Noodles (Vermicelli)
Hot Pepper Flakes
We had the shrimp leftover from serving shrimp with cocktail sauce. So, all we had to do was remove the tails and the shrimp were ready.
Next, we cut the mushrooms into quarters. This gave us a nice, hardy bite of mushroom that seemed like a good size match for the shrimp. We could have sliced them or left them whole.
Then, we cut the onion and pepper into large pieces. We wanted to keep everything a little bigger instead of smaller, so they would all cook at the same rate and would make it nice and easy to pick up using chopsticks.
Lastly, we cut the scallions (green onions) into pieces so they could be distributed around the entire pan. The oil we used was enough for our pan, but the amount will vary depending on the pan you have, the shape, size, and type. We did not use a non-stick pan, so we used a little more oil.
And, the vermicelli noodles that we used were the last bit of a package -- our last package until we shop again, but, it was enough to add to this dish! If we did not have leftover noodles, we would have used a package of ramen noodles, or made a quick boiled rice to serve with the stir fry. For us, this worked out well. All we had to do was boil some water and cook the noodles for a couple of minutes before adding them to the stir fry. We cooked them directly in the sieve so they would be drained as soon as they cooked, and then added to the frying pan. This way, there was no time for the noodles to cool, nor to stick!
So, what did we do that may give you some ideas about what you, too, can do?
First, after cutting all of the vegetables, we started by heating the pan. We used some prepared minced garlic and then added our onions. We cooked those over medium-high heat, then added the scallions, peppers, some soy sauce, and some hot pepper flakes. If you prefer the taste of ginger, this would be the time to add the ginger. We let everything cook together for about 3 or 4 minutes, then, we continued to add ingredients.
We added the noodles and the mushrooms. We mixed well to make sure the noodles would get coated with the oil in the pan, so they would not stick. Then, as soon as the mushrooms started to get dark and show they were half cooked, we added the shrimp. After mixing everything together very well, we cooked the dish long enough to make sure the shrimp were warmed all the way through the centre. Had we used raw shrimp, we would have cooked them in a separate pan and then added them to the vegetables.
We adjusted the seasoning with a little soy sauce and hot pepper, and served immediately. This stir fry included all the food categories that we could -- vegetables, pasta, seafood, and spice. Sounds like a well-rounded meal to us! So, if you have some ideas about what to toss together for a super fast, super tasty stir fry, we would love to hear! Until then, καλή όρεξη!
"Do not forsake an old friend,
for a new friend is not equal to him.
A new friend is like new wine;
Drink it with pleasure only after it ages."
Wisdom of Sirach, 9:10
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