Hello dear readers and beautiful random people on the Internet, I’m back.
Where have you been for the past one month? Thank you for asking! I’m still here at my home in Toronto. But for the past one month, I took (and am still doing) an internship with Culture, a bilingual Canada-based magazine with a focus on the intersection between Vietnamese and Canadian cultures. It has always been my dream to work in a magazine, to reach a wider audience and use my writing to help people, transport them to a place they didn’t know exist or encourage them to get into the kitchen to cook more.
I spend many days researching topics, writing and calling people, feeling like a real journalist (mind you, I’m trying to be one). Speaking to strangers has never been my strong suit, but I tried and little by little I’m limping out of my comfort zone. It was nerve-breaking at first, but it’s getting better now. Still, there’s a lot to learn. You can find my latest stories here.
Between the reading, writing and speaking, I cook. This sweet and sour vegetable stir fry screams summer to me, with all the greens contrasting so vividly with the red tomatoes, sweetness with tartness.
Back in Vietnam, my mom used to make this when she had fresh squids from the market, which she paired with tomatoes, cucumbers and pineapple slices. Depending on how tart the tomatoes and pineapple were, she might add a splash of white vinegar for a bolder flavor.
Since pineapple is harder to come by here, I use a combination of fresh tomato, tomato paste and apple cider vinegar for that sour kick. The use of corn starch flurry is something I learn from watching Chinese cooking videos to make a velvety sauce that sticks to every component of the stir-fry. For the vegetables, I like snap peas, bell pepper and cucumber. Cauliflower and broccoli work too. Replace prawns with squids if your heart desires.
Sweet and Sour Vegetable Stir-fry
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 knob ginger about 2 cm, minced
- 200 g prawns peeled and deveined
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tomato cut into wedges
- 1 medium-sized cucumber cut into chunks
- 1 medium-sized bell pepper cut into chunks
- 250 g snap peas or green peas
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 stalks of cilantro
- Ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine apple cider vinegar, sugar, corn starch and mix thoroughly until the corn starch and sugar dissolve. Set aside.
- In a wok/ large frying pan, heat the oil on mediumhigh heat and fry the garlic-ginger mixture until fragrant.
- Add the prawns and cook until they slightly change color and add the tomato paste. Toss thoroughly.
- On high heat, add tomatoes wedges and cook until they slightly wilt. Add cucumbers, bell pepper and snap peas in one-minute intervals.
- Add the stir-fry sauce by the spoonful. Toss around, make sure everything is well-coated. Add the salt and season to taste.
- Remove the pan from the heat when all the sauce is incorporated, and the cucumber is opaque.
- Garnish with cilantro and ground black pepper. Serve hot with rice.
