i support global warming, and stir fry

The first real cold front came about a week ago. We've had an anticyclone anchored over our part of the world since then. It's been dry, and cold--the lows now dip into the 20sF. I've been noticing more cumuliform clouds, so perhaps some respite is immanent. Although I haven't checked the models in weeks, so I couldn't say. And even if I had, I'm not the greatest forecaster this side of the International Date Line.

Yesterday I was treated to a very nice sky, though. Sparsely scattered cumuliform clouds trailed streaks of snow. One of the more beautiful displays I've seen. I do find the fact that I could see snow from the ground somewhat disconcerting, despite the obvious fact that the streaks had melted and evaporated long before coming anywhere near me.

Lately I've been making a lot of stir fries. I started making them because I thought they would make food preparation quicker. But, now that I'm making two different dishes in one night (my partner likes to have side dishes) it takes just as long as European and Euro-American food.

My favorite dish comes from Fuchsia Dunlop's Revolutionary Chinese Cooking. This Hunan cookbook delights me with red stars and pictures or quotes from Mao on every page. (Not that I'm a Maoist, but I'm Red enough to enjoy their iconography.) "Stir-fried smoky bacon with smoked bean curd" is the title. I've modified it slightly for my tastes.

Now, the key to stir-frying is to have the wok on almost the highest heat. For my stove, I've noticed it needs to be slightly less than High to be perfect. The outside of the foodbits needs to be almost seared, and the inside almost raw. ("Almost" really is a key word here.)

Steam some bacon--oi vey have I loved discovering the joy of steamed bacon!--at the highest heat. Give it 10-15 minutes. Better not to overcook it. Then throw some bacon grease (or favorite stir-frying oil) into a highly heated wok. Stir fry the bacon for a few minutes, then throw in some tofu and brown it. Push the bacon and tofu up to the sides of the wok, allowing the oil to drain to the middle. Now throw some hot peppers and bell peppers into the smoking oil. Give it a few minutes--until the room feels like the day after a WTO meeting or GOP convention--then throw in some mushrooms. Let them soften some, then throw in some leek greens and a generous splash of light soy sauce. Be sure to use light soy sauce--the dark stuff isn't as good for this. When the greens have just wilted and warmed, the meal is done.

But what do I do with the non-green parts of the leek? you ask. Well, I like to prepare this dish first, and keep it warm. Then I prepare a vegetable stir-fry. I usually use bacon grease, yes, and anything from our CSA share that we need to eat: carrots, cabbage, potatoes, etc. Working out the timing for what gets thrown in and what gets removed and then added back ahead of time works best for me--I have a scrap of paper with notes about it. For this, instincts honed by a fair amount of kitchen time is best. One of my favorite things to do is to prepare a mirepoix-ish thing, with carrots and cabbage and maybe potatoes, and remove it, then throw in leeks andy then maybe some leafy greens, and then add the pseudo-mirepoix back to the stir fry. If I'm preparing a dish like this alone, I like to use Chiangking rice wine vinegar, and light and dark soy sauces. With the bacon-tofu dish above, I like to give it a splash of Chiangking vinegar, a bigger splash of light soy sauce, and and equal amount of mirin.

Serve over rice.