Is That Potato In Your Stir Fry?

Sunday night was another play night. Mandy needed to eat vegetables, Sté was hungry, and we were all oozing inspiration. So, while Sté used his creative mind to act like he was asleep on the couch (the loud snoring was incredibly convincing), Mandy and I set to work with beef, potatoes, asparagus, Cremini mushrooms, zucchini, and maxixe. What to do? Stir fry.

But stir fry with potatoes, you wonder? Well, it's nothing new. I've had stir-fried potatoes at Grand Sichuan (deliciously crunchy cooked with some peppers in oil and vinegar), so Mandy set to work shredding the potato with my Mouli Julienne while I chopped the veggies.

Rather than offering a traditional recipe, I offer our play-by-play:

Into my pot (yes, I need a giant wok...but where would I put it?!) went some Sichuan Pepper Pickle (a heaping tablespoon?), a little oil, and about 1/2 lb of sliced beef. We sautéed it until it was almost done, then threw in the a bunch of asparagus (chopped), followed by 1 lb. of mushrooms, which I'd cut in half (or vice versa? It really doesn't matter). And then I remembered the maxixe, which I sliced into wedges and popped into the pot. When the veggies were almost done, we added the julienned potato (one Idaho), a little more Sichuan Pepper Pickle, some soy sauce, and a little Sichuan Peppercorn Oil to give the dish a colorful zip. We turned off the heat, then stirred in about 1 cup of julienned zucchini and a chopped Holland red bell pepper.

How did the potato work? It was perfect. It added just the right amount of starch to thicken the sauce, and we didn't have to bother with rice or noodles, so it made our lives incredibly simple: One-dish stir fry.

Up to the roof we went, where we served our creation with a little chili garlic sauce (a must-have addition). Sté picked up the fixings for a pear spritzer, and Mother Nature provided us with a spectacular Krakatoa-like sunset. We ate and were happy...a beautiful wrap to the weekend.