Asian style vegetables with noodles or rice

Last weekend I made, with the help and assistance of some friends, a delicious risotto with green asparagus, mint and lemon. With all the wine we were drinking during the cooking, I completely forgot to take a picture. So, I will have to make the risotto again (which I totally don't mind, it was that good) and post the recipe wíth pictures some other time. The recipe was Jamie Oliver's, so if you want to make it before I post it, check his website!

The days have gone by and finally I am posting a new recipe. This is because I only have one week left before I have to hand in the first draft of my thesis...Aaargh! Luckily the stress, as it usually does, has a positive effect on my creativity, so the writing goes quite well, thank you.

Today I will tell you about a delicious Asian dish. It's little bit sweet and smooth, and very tasty. I wonder how my Chinese friends would like it. Maybe they say it's not Asian at all!
The ingredient list seems quite long, but once you have the stuff for the sauce at home, you can cook a million things with it (or just make this recipe over and over again). I have made a suggestion for which vegetables to use, but you can of course vary as much as you like. You can also add some fried tofu or egg to add some protein.



Asian style vegetables with noodles or rice (serves 4)

sauce:
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sunflower oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
60 ml Japanese soy sauce
80 ml sweet chili sauce
2 teaspoons cornflour (NL: maizena)
125 ml water
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 tablespoon of ketjap manis (sweet Indonesian sauce)

vegetables:
1 medium broccoli, cut in small florets
2 handfuls of snap peas (NL: peultjes) or sugar snaps
1 red bell pepper (NL: paprika), in cubes or slices
150 gr cremini mushrooms (NL: kastanje champignons), sliced
1/4 savoy cabbage, shredded

plus: noodles or rice

* blanch the broccoli and snap peas for 2 minutes in boiling water and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process
* make the sauce by putting the sesame oil and sunflower oil in a large frying pan or wok
* fry the onion and garlic until they are soft, but not brown
* add soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, cornflour, water, ginger and ketjap manis and let it simmer for a few minutes to thicken
* add paprika, mushrooms and cabbage, cover the pan and simmer for around 3-5 minutes until they are cooked but still crunchy
* add broccoli and snap peas and warm through
* serve with noodles or rice

Tips:
* don't throw away the stalk of the broccoli - peel it and cut into thin slices. Use with the rest of the broccoli.
* you can keep ginger in the freezer and grate what you need straight into the pan. You can do the same with chili peppers by the way!