We are going to talk about the tiny kitchen! I mentioned that I only had 2 induction burners that I had to watch a video about how to use. I had a microwave and a toaster oven. The toaster oven set off the smoke detector every time. Turns out it was a heat detector instead of smoke!
Stir fry is a super simple thing to make. Meat and veggies sizzled over high heat until they are cooked. I found a brand of seasoning mixes years ago that reminded me of our time in Japan. I feel like maybe we have already talked about this but now I have a tiny version to mention. Sunbird is the brand name and they make a seasoning mix for everything from Broccoli Beef to Fried Rice to Stir Fry. Everything they make is super authentic, to my mouth at least.
With the 2 burners and no wok I had to get creative. The carrots got julienned, the broccoli was reduced to just the florets and the mushrooms were quartered. Basically I made them smaller. The onions have always just been thinly sliced so that wasn’t a change. Y’all can use what ever veggies you like or that need to be used up. Snow peas, green beans, asparagus, cauliflower, any color of pepper, any color of onion, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, baby corn or anything else your heart desires. I like beef best in this and it doesn’t much matter which cut. I have used skirt steak, flank steak, round steak, NY strip steak and flat iron steak. Chicken would also be OK. Breasts sliced into thin strips, tenderloins, or thighs sliced into strips. Pork of any variety could also be used. I wouldn’t go with any kind of ground meats here because the sauce is kind of sticky thick and the meats will just get weird. I also wouldn’t waste any kind of special meat like lamb or venison as the sauce will detract from the taste of those meats.
With my other burner I decided to make soba noodles instead of rice. I was able to find a brand that didn’t require any pre work to be done like soaking or rinsing. Another reason for not doing rice is that the induction burners fluctuate in temperature and rice needs to be constant. I always make the stir fry with rice so it was fun to have noodles with it this time.
I have another product recommendation for y’all. I am a soy sauce snob. I had some of the best soy sauce ever in Okinawa and I stumbled across this new to me brand by chance at work. I got a veggie roll from the sushi counter and they had a different soy sauce in the little packets than normal. The brand is Yamasa and the variety is Shoyu. I did find this at one of my local markets as well as on Amazon. This variety had a deeper, richer flavor to it than regular soy sauce. It is almost like a soy sauce with a hint of fish sauce. Two of the best sauces combined!
That was my adaptation of stir fry, feel free to let your imagination run and make your own version!
I made a cucumber and shallot salad to go as a side with this. The sauce is very deep and rich so a bright salad of sorts is a must. I went with equal parts balsamic vinegar and the shoyu soy sauce and a splash of sesame oil. I didn’t have any chili oil on hand so I topped it with red pepper flakes.
Enjoy your kitchen and Happy Cooking!
Ali's Kitchen 