Vegetable Stir Fry and How To Cook Brown Rice

I try to cook this meal at least once a week - it's my version of a super multi vitamin.  Lots of veggies, vegetarian protein, and plenty of healthful ginger and garlic.  Did I mention it's also delicious?  I have never included it here before because it barely seems like a recipe, but I decided to because it's pretty kid-friendly for a vegetable dish, and I'm making an effort to eat better after the Christmas gluttony.

Start with around 6 cups of chopped vegetables (cut everything into relatively uniform size, though softer veggies like zucchini can be cut thicker than firm veggies like carrots).  For us, this makes two very generous servings with the rice - which means that each serving contains THREE cups of veggies, or roughly six 'servings' of vegetables per person, which is more than the entire daily recommended minimum amount.

I try and include at least eight different types of vegetable, taking heed of the advice to eat as many different foods (in particular, different coloured foods) as you can each day.  In this meal, for example, I included broccoli (florets and stem - see note below), yellow squash, capsicum, zucchini, celery, onion, corn, green beans and carrot.

I also include 3 large cloves of garlic, and a thumb-sized piece of garlic, which I add just before the sauce, finely chopped, as well as a handful of cashews.

If you want, you could easily include some prawns, mince, strips of beef or chicken, or some tofu.

What do I put in the sauce?  It differs - whatever I happen to grab, but often includes:

• Starting with chili-infused olive oil, which I stir-fry the veggies in (over very high heat, until lightly cooked)
• I add about a third of a cup of rice wine or mirin, and a little water, and keep cooking over high heat until the veggies are cooked enough (the thickest pieces, such as the broccoli stems or carrot, are still lightly crunchy).
• I then add a handful of cashew nuts and the ginger and garlic, and stir over the heat for a minute or two.
• Next comes a good amount of soy, some oyster sauce, a little fish sauce, some sweet chili (or Sriracha and a little sugar), a dash of sesame oil, and some black vinegar or fresh lemon/lime.  If the sauce needs more liquid / sauciness, I add some water or chicken stock (water is perfectly fine!).

Spoon over cooked brown rice, and pour over any extra sauce.

NOTE - I use broccoli stems.  Do you?  In some ways, I think they are the best part of the broccoli.  Similar flavour, but a beautiful crunch similar to water chestnuts.  I can't believe how many years I spent throwing them out before I learnt they are perfectly edible!  Simply peel the stem, and chop up into slices.

NOTE - I recently learnt how to cook perfect brown rice.  In the past, I've tried rice cookers, absorption method, microwave, but it's always been far too chewy and stodgy.  In fact, the method I now use is a little strange, but it works!  

Bring 2.5 litres of water to the boil in a medium saucepan.  Add a cup of brown rice, , stir briefly, and boil for 35 minutes (it will be in plenty of water, like cooking pasta).

Drain for ten seconds in a colander, then tip back into the saucepan, and put the lid on.  Leave to steam in its residual heat for ten minutes or so, then fluff up with a fork.

So easy!  It will still be chewy and firm, of course, being brown rice - but it's fluffier and spot on in my opinion.  I got this method from US food magazine Saveur, though I don't add salt.