Monday, October 23, 2017

STIR FRY FRENCH BEANS IN FRAGRANT SAUCE

Again, once a year is time for vegetarian meals in conjunction with Nine Emperor Gods Festival.  In my home vicinity there is a makeshift temple set up to celebrate the festival in a rather grand scale with numerous temporary vegetarian food stalls along both sides of the road leading to the temple.
The area is full of activities throughout the nine days starting from 20 October 2017. Many can get to enjoy vegetarian food not necessarily for religious reasons.  Anyway, my family members have been observing vegetarian meals during the duration of the festival for almost 4 generations.
A wooden boat loaded with offerings that will be send-off to sea
 on the 9th day night
The main reason is because my family members are involved with the yearly send-off of the Nine Emperor God’s ‘Boat’ to the sea on the 9th day night from our clan jetty [Ong Jetty, Penang].   Those involved have to be on vegetarian diet as a respect.
Back to this dish, it is a simple stir fry vegetable with firm beancurd [taukwa] in fragrant sauce.  It tastes savoury, sweet, sourish and fragrant, appetizingly good with steaming hot rice.  Anyway, we always enjoy vegetarian meals during this time with very good appetite no matter how simple the dishes are.   If you like to try vegetarian food, do check it out here.  These are the numerous vegetarian dishes which I have prepared over the years.
Ingredients
2-3 pieces firm beancurd [taukwa] – cut cubes
100 gm French Beans – cut ½ inch lengths
1 red chilli – sliced
some chopped or sliced ginger
Seasoning Sauce [combined] – can increase the amount for more sauce
1 tbsp each light soy sauce, wine and black vinegar
1 tsp sugar
Dash of salt and vegetarian msg [optional]
½ tsp cornstarch
2-3 tbsp water
  1. Heat enough oil in a non-stick wok, fry beancurd cubes until crispy and golden brown.  Dish up.
  2. Remove excess oil, sauté ginger and chillies until aromatic, then add in French beans.  Stir fry until almost cooked through, add in beancurd cubes and seasoning.
  3. Stir to mix well.  Dish up to serve.
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4 comments:

  1. PHOctober 23, 2017 at 1:11 PM

    Hi Kimmy! This is a nice simple dish. I usally fry french beans with just garlic and salt or with eggs. This will be a nice alternative from the same old thing.

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  2. KimmyOctober 23, 2017 at 4:25 PM

    Hi Phong Hong, I love taukwa and this dish suits me well. Like the seasoning sauce with black vinegar, it is aromatic and a little different from the usually savoury taste.

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  3. A Baker's EndeavoursOctober 24, 2017 at 3:00 PM

    Hi Kimmy,

    I didn't realised vegetarian diet is observed in preparation for this celebration. I happen to have all the ingredients at home. I'll try it tonight. Thanks.

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  4. KimmyOctober 24, 2017 at 6:12 PM

    Hi A Baker, for this festival, observing a strict vegetarian diet is a must. There is no garlic, spring onions and a few types of vegetables are not supposed to be added to the dishes. A unique traditional and religious festival. These days many are going for vegetarian meals not necessary for religious purpose.

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