We eat meatless dinners at least once a week. We aren’t big fans of tofu and I’m not a big pasta eater, so our meatless meals are typically vegetables over rice or couscous. Stir-frying is a great way to cook lots of vegetables at once in small amounts of oil. Our meatless nights are usually during the work week, so the quickness of stir-fry dishes adds another positive element to go along with the health benefits.

A few weeks ago, we tried out a stir-fry with a Thai peanut sauce. The dish was titiled. “Stir-Fried Vegetables in Thai Peanut Sauce.” We really liked it so we made it a few times. Then I went to write a blog about the dish. I had thought I would write about the origins of Thai peanut sauce & Thai food in my commentary part of the post. But I ran into some difficulties when doing the research along those lines. It seems that “Thai peanut sauce” isn’t Thai at all, but an American invention. Thais in Thailand put ground peanuts in a variety of dishes, as just another ingredient. They grind the peanuts to the consistency of grains of sand, not to the smooth paste of peanut butter that Americans use and they don’t call them peanut sauces.

So, I kept the recipe & changed its name. I feel justified in keeping Thai in the name since of the 10 essential ingredients in Thai dishes, 5 of them are in the dish. The peanut sauce part isn’t a Thai thing, so I dropped that part, but just from the name!

Thai Stir-Fry Vegetables

Thai Stir-Fry Vegetables  (adapted from fitnessmagazine.com)

Makes: 4 servings    Start to Finish, about 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1-2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
• 2 medium carrots, cut into thin bite-size strips
• 4 scallions, white part chopped and green part cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded napa cabbage
• 1 small cucumber, seeded and cut into thin bite-size strips
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh Thai basil or mint
• 3 cups hot cooked rice
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped unsalted dry roasted peanuts for garnish

Directions:

Cook the rice according to the package directions.

Having a sous-chef helps with the veggie prep!

For the sauce, in a small saucepan stir together the broth, jalapeno pepper and garlic. Bring the mixture to boiling then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 2 minutes or until the jalapeno pepper is tender.

The garlic & jalapeno are cooked in the broth. Adding some of the pepper seeds will increase the spiciness of the dish.

Add the peanut butter and stir until it is well combined. Remove the sauce from the heat. Stir in the rice vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil and set the sauce aside.

The peanut butter is blended into the broth before the oil, vinegar & soy sauce are added.

Pour the canola oil into a wok or large skillet. Heat the pan over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the carrots and onion in the hot oil for about 4 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender.

The carrots & onion need the longest time in the wok.

Add the cabbage, cucumber, scallion and mint.

The rest of the veggies go into the wok.

Pour the sauce over it all. Reduce the heat to medium-low.

Stir in the peanut sauce.

Cook and stir the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes or until it is heated through. Serve immediately over rice. Sprinkle each serving with the chopped peanuts.

A tasty, vegetarian main dish or a great side dish!

Whoever did invent the peanut sauce was onto something!  ~Linda

Thai Stir-Fry Vegetables  (adapted from fitnessmagazine.com)

Makes: 4 servings    Start to Finish, about 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
• 2 medium carrots, cut into thin bite-size strips
• 1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
• 4 scallions, white part chopped and green part cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups shredded napa cabbage
• 1 small cucumber, seeded and cut into thin bite-size strips
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh mint
• 3 cups hot cooked rice
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped unsalted dry roasted peanuts for garnish

Directions:

Cook the rice according to the package directions.

For the sauce, in a small saucepan stir together the broth, jalapeno pepper and garlic. Bring the mixture to boiling then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 2 minutes or until the jalapeno pepper is tender.

Add the peanut butter and stir until combined. Remove the sauce from the heat. Stir in the rice vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil and set the sauce aside.

Pour the cooking oil into a wok or large skillet. Heat the pan over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the carrots and onion in the hot oil for about 4 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender.

Add the cabbage, cucumber, scallions and mint then pour the sauce over it all. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook and stir the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes or until it is heated through. Serve immediately over rice. Sprinkle each serving with peanuts.