Killing 2 Birds with One Stone: Stir Fry

I tend to food shop in bulk much to the despair of Mr. Sprinkle who has more than once given me a severe silence treatment after making him carry home enough pasta and meat to feed our street. I can't help it; well-stocked kitchen cupboards make me feel at ease, and I firmly believe that when you see a good deal in the shop, you gotta jump at it!

Running out of kitchen basics like rice or eggs have become known as "major supply chain failure" in our home. I take it from my mum.  Growing up I would go to the supermarket with her once a week and buy in bulk.  I can count the number of times we ran out of something essential on one hand. She is a lean mean supply chain manager and alas, I am trying hard to follow in her foot steps.

Anyways, what the heck does buying in bulk have to do with stir fry you may rightfully ask at this point.  Well, when you buy highly perishable goods like vegetables in bulk it may sometimes be difficult to use them up before they expire.  A stir fry is an excellent and healthy way to use up excess vegetables sitting in your fridge.  And that is exactly what I did last night.

Just make sure to always have the following basics in your kitchen: sesame oil, fresh ginger, fresh chillis, garlic, oyster sauce and rice.

To feed 4 people:

Sesame oil

1 fresh chopped and deseeded chilli

a couple of slices of peeled, fresh ginger

2 cloves of peeled and chopped garlic

400 g of  chicken in bite-sized pieces

3 peeled and sliced carrots

2 chopped bell peppers

2 sliced pak choi

1 chopped broccoli head

2 peeled and diced white onions

a handful of washed and sliced mushrooms

sesame seeds

fresh ground pepper

1. Heat 2 tablespoonfuls of sesame oil in a wok or big pot.  Add the chilli, onion, garlic and ginger and let it fry for a minute.

2.  Add the chicken and let it fry till golden.  Add some fresh ground pepper.

3. Add the carrots, mushrooms and bell peppers.  Fry for a few minutes.  Then add the rest of the vegetables.

4. Add a bit of oyster sauce and mix everything around.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve!

This stir fry goes well with rice or noodles and a dash of soy sauce.

If you don't have all the above vegetables then go for it anyways - our fridge was bursting with greens just about expire last night so I saw little choice but to go all-in.