Mixed vegetables in butter pepper garlic sauce

The Dawn of Oriental in my kitchen

Sauteed mushrooms and mixed veggies in butter pepper garlic sauce

Chinese meant hakka noodles, fried rice and manchurian for me. I was never intrigued by this cuisine and hardly ever ate it at restaurants. Needless to say, that I never made it at home. I discovered the dragon foodland only after I got married. My husband is a die-hard fan of the Oriental cuisine. Whenever I wasn’t around, he ordered Chinese, nine out of ten times. So, I decided to take the plunge…Splash, splash, splash… I liked the flavours. And explored Thai as well on the way. My first stint with hakka noodles was disastrous. I ran out of gas and it took me some time to fit the new one (it is quite a challenge for me) and in amidst all the chaos, the noodles became sticky and soft. My husband is darling, and he ate without complaining but I hated it. Frankly quite discouraged, I didn’t attempt Chinese for quite some time after that episode (I am bit of a drama queen ;)) But, I soon grew restless and came a day of Oriental again. I totally got the hakka noodles this time and boy, they were yummy! So, I dared more and made mix vegetables in butter pepper garlic sauce, schezwan fried rice and quick stir fried noodles for dinner with friends. The dinner was a big hit and I had five happpppy fans at the end of the meal :) So, go Oriental-

This recipe is for 4-6 people

Ingredients:

60 gm butter

1.5 tsp crushed black pepper

5-6 garlic cloves, crushed

3-4 onions (I used small bulb spring onions)

1tbsp spring onion greens

1 green capsicum- cut in juliennes

1 red bell pepper- cut in juliennes

1 yellow bell pepper- cut in juliennes

1 packet baby corn, sliced thin

½ packet mushrooms, sliced in chunks

1 small head of broccoli / cauliflower

1 med sized carrot- cut in juliennes

2 tbsp corn flour

2 cups water

2 tsp light soy sauce

2 tsp chilly sauce

½ tsp sugar

¼ tsp MSG (ajino moto) (optional)

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Blanch broccoli and carrots in salted hot water for about 4-6 minutes. Drain the water.   

2. Heat butter in a wok. Add broccoli, carrots, baby corn and all the bell peppers. Cook for 5-7 minutes over low to medium flame.  Add black pepper, soy sauce, chilly sauce, sugar and MSG. Mix well. 

3. Then add mushrooms. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. In the meantime, mix corn flour with water and make watery slurry. Keep aside. Add salt to the veggies and mix well again. 

4. Now add corn flour slurry and mix well. If required make more slurry. Cook till the sauce thickens to your desired consistency. 

5. Garnish with spring onion greens and serve hot with steamed rice or stir-fried noodles. 

This time around I made it for dinner with my parents. They don't eat mushrooms, so I sauteed them separately with light soy sauce, garlic and vinegar and tossed it with spring onion greens. It tasted delicious as a side dish too!

Bon Apetit!