Not so fast, missy...

I wasn’t going to share this recipe initially – I just didn’t think it was worthy. I didn’t even take a picture of it since it was so boring. But I had the leftovers for lunch yesterday and have reconsidered my hasty decision…

Dinner For One: Sweet & Spicy Veggie Stir Fry

Generally when I cook for myself during the week I stick to vegetarian fare. No real reason, I’m certainly a meat eater, it just seems easier, faster & needs less prep work. This is one dish, though, that I will make with chicken next time – it certainly worked all veggie, but adding thin strips of chicken would be just as fast & easy, and would give it some bite. Alternately, I could add mushrooms… I have a lot of veggie-headed friends, I’m hoping some of them will try it out & make suggestions! (hint, hint)

My friend T_Ro gets 100% credit for finding the secret ingredient here. It’s a store-bought broccoli slaw that I read about on her blog. You can find it at Kroger. If you find yourself without a Kroger, I suppose you could break out a food processor & grate broccoli stalks with cabbage and carrots… in fact, I might just do that next time.

The recipe came about from a mixture of laziness, impatience & broke-ness (a state of having little or no money to buy dinner) – a sad combination. I wanted Chinese take-out but didn’t want to go get it, wait for it, or pay for it. Not a very auspicious start for such a tasty dish!

How I made it:
As usual, started the rice cooker and then started scavenging through the fridge. I had a taste for Asian flavors so I set out a big frying pan, swirled in a little toasted sesame oil and set it over medium-high heat. When the oil was shimmering I dumped in about half the bag of shredded veggies. I let them fry for a minute, tossing a little bit & then added about 2TB of soy sauce. Another minute of tossing and then I added 3TB of sweet chili sauce (the orange sauce with flecks of red) and 2 TB of water. The chili sauce thins out & becomes a spicy, sweet glaze over the vegetables. Thirty more seconds over the heat and the veggies should be cooked – limp but still with a little bite. Spoon veggies & sauce over rice. Um, that’s it. I told you I was being lazy.

Next time I’ll thinly slice some chicken & brown it in the hot oil before I add the veggies… and maybe I’ll invite my Chinese delivery guy over for dinner ☺

Update: I just checked in with another one of my favorite food blogs – Orangette. She has a stir-fried cabbage post that is eerily similar! I swear I didn’t see it before my experiment-cum-recipe was born…too weird. But if Molly is eating it then I know I’m on to something good…