This dish can take a bit of chopping time, but it’s well worth it. It’s great to have a wok to cook it in, because it allows you to make a big batch that you can eat for the next meal or two – that way the time invested in all that knife work pays off a little more. Sometimes I get a craving for something like pad Thai, something with a sweet and spicy peanut sauce with lots of fresh vegetables, and especially lots of colour, and this dish does the trick. It’s a very sensory experience – there’s the orange, tan, deep green and reds in the dish, plus the combination of intensely sweet, spicy, sour and the bitter of the bok choy greens. If you want to liven up your weekend evening with something different and fun, or serve something as a colourful main dish at a casual dinner party, this would be great. Bean sprouts can be added along with the the greens toward the end; you could also garnish with extra chopped coriander leaves, chopped peanuts and shredded unsweetened coconut – that would add a touch of presentation to this, if you serve it in a nice big bowl.
Ayurvedically, I wouldn’t recommend peanuts, chili or lots of salt to someone suffering from high stomach acidity or lots of skin problems. However, this dish balances those ingredients with cooling coconut oil, bok choy and coriander. If the weather is hot for you at the moment or you suffer from other ‘hot’ health problems like those mentioned above, you could use almond or sunflower butter in place of peanut; thinly sliced sweet potato in place of carrot; and reduce the chilies, and this dish would be more balancing for you. Lime juice to add tang in place of vinegar would also really help.
Enjoy!
Stir-fried Greens & Carrots with Citrus Nut-Sauce
2 tbs coconut or sesame oil
4 Asian shallots, cut in half, then sliced thinly lengthwise
1 inch fresh ginger root, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced (can omit for Pitta-types)
1 large bunch bok-choy, stalks and leaves separated and both sliced into 1/4 inch strips
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced thinly into rounds
juice of 1 large sweet orange (a blood orange is nice)
3/4 tsp finely grated orange zest
2 tsp fish sauce, or 1 tbs tamari
1/2 tsp salt
1+1/2 tbs brown rice vinegar
1/4 cup creamy peanut, sunflower seed or almond butter
1/4 – 1/2 tsp red chili flakes, optional (omit for Pitta-types)
2 tsp ground coriander seed
1 – 2 tsp demerara or other unrefined sugar
large handful chopped fresh coriander
1 + 1/2 cups short grain brown rice, jasmine rice or other Asian noodles
serves 3-4
Place brown rice and 3 cups water in a pot. Boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer until done, about 45 minutes.
In a bowl, combine the orange juice and zest, chili flakes, peanut butter, 1/2 tsp salt, fish sauce or tamari, and brown rice vinegar. Stir to combine (doesn’t have to be perfect). Melt the coconut oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the shallots, cook until they begin to brown. Add the garlic and ginger; cook for a couple minutes, to take the edge off the garlic. Add the juice mix, the carrot and bok choy stalks; stir to coat the vegetables and to completely mix the sauce ingredients. Cover and cook on medium/low until the vegetables are nearly done, checking on them every few minutes, stirring, and adding a bit of extra water if needed. Toss in the coriander powder and sugar. Stir well and taste – you might need to adjust for acidity, salt, sweetness or spiciness. If needed, add a bit more vinegar, tamari, sugar or chili. When you’re happy with the consistency of the vegetables, add the bok choy leaves and fresh coriander. Mix. Pour over a helping of brown rice and serve. Other Asian noodles would go wonderfully with this – mung bean noodles, rice noodles…we live near a store that sells pumpkin ginger noodles, and they’re quite nice!
This would be lovely accompanied by a “cocktail” of crushed mint and cilantro leaves with a bit of agave nectar, mixed with room temperature still or sparkling water. The mint, cilantro and agave are very cooling and will balance the heat of chili, garlic, carrots and peanuts.
