The Pilgrim's Pots and Pans

As a new graduate, I shared an apartment with several college students and young professionals. We had a great time playing house, with scenarios much like the sit-com Friends. In theory we cooked or brought our own food but in reality, we partook of what each brought into the house. That kind of arrangement suited us well since there was nobody assigned to kitchen duty.

We lived in a compound of two apartment rows facing each other. The tenants of the other apartments were also students, young professionals and a few families. The children would oftentimes come to our apartment with their books and crayons, play and eat with us, to the consternation of their parents.

Usually, I cook when I get home from the office. Technically, I would just cook for myself and my brother but of course I would cook enough to feed around ten people, which include my housemates and any stragglers. Even when I come home late in the evening, at around 10 p.m. as soon as the pan hits the stove, people would be coming out of the woodwork.

The recipe I’m posting today is one of my bestsellers, so to speak. It’s a variation of the Stir-fried Vegetables with Oyster Sauce recipe of sometime back and quite easy to cook. I got it from one of my mom’s cookbooks, Vegetarian Cooking by Carole Handslip. This one uses another kind of beans – mangetout also known as citsaro or snowpeas – and tofu. When I first tried this, it made raves even with the non-vegetable eating crowd. Enjoy!

Stir-Fried Vegetables with Tofu

3 tbsp. light soy sauce (original recipe calls for shoyu)
3 tbsp. dry sherry (I use red wine but you can omit this)
1 cm. (1/2 inch) piece root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed (I definitely use more!)
250 g. (8 oz.) firm tofu
about 2 tbsp. sesame oil
1 large onion, sliced
175 g. (6 oz.) mangetouts (citsaro or snowpeas), topped, tailed and halved
1 red pepper (capsicum), cored, seeded and sliced
175 g. (6 oz.) button mushrooms, sliced
500 g. (1 lb.) beanshoots (togue)
2 tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted

Mix the soy sauce, sherry, chopped ginger and garlic together in a bowl. Cut the tofu into cubes and add to the bowl, stirring to coat completely. Leave to marinate for 1 hour, then drain, reserving the marinade.

Heat the oil in a large wok, add the tofu cubes and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, until beginning to brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm.

Reheat the oil, adding a little more if necessary. Add the onion and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the mangetouts and red pepper (capsicum) and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, beanshoots and reserved marinade and stir-fry for 2 minutes, until heated through.

Lightly stir in the tofu, then turn onto a warmed serving dish. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds to serve.


This can be served with any meat dish such as adobo or asado.