Clean Out The Bins Marinade Pt.1

Along with everything else I've somehow managed to get a miserable chest cold. I'll spare you the details. Danny was better in a day, but not surprisingly, I'm not. This is the perfect plan-ahead dinner that requires almost no work to put together. What's better, once the basic prep work is done, you can crawl back into bed and let someone else actually cook it (simple enough for Mr. Eat The Blog to cook).

I'll post a "recipe" of sorts but really any vegetables will do. I'll add the tofu and water chestnuts tomorrow, so they don't discolour too much. If you use frozen vegetables, give them a quick dip in boiling water and then refresh in cold (particularly if using green beans or broccoli). You could toss the frozen vegetables in the marinade, but it does tend to add water and make things stick together funny. Not a crisis by any means, and I've done it, but if you have the energy, heat the frozen vegetables first. You can also add a tin of rinsed and drained black beans to this recipe, if you feel like it, though keep in mind it will contribute even more salt to the dish. I'd cut back on the hoisan if using beans.

For the Marinade:

(In a measuring cup, mix the following)

3 tablespoons sesame oil

2 heaping tablespoons black bean garlic paste

4 tablespoons hoisan sauce

Enough canola oil to bring the mixture to 3/4 cup

The vegetables I used this time:

1/4 green cabbage, coarsely cut

6 stalks celery, with leaves, chopped

6 carrots, peeled and sliced into thin ovals at an angle (because I'm fancy like that)

1/8 cup fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

1 teaspoon dried minced garlic

1 large onion, sliced

1 bunch scallions, chopped

Mix in a large plastic baggie with marinade. Place in a dish (just in case of leaks-trust me, you don't want the fridge reeking in sesame oil). Next day, add fried extra-firm tofu and water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, etc. Then stir-fry and serve over rice. I'll post part two tomorrow.

Did I mention this is a super-cheap dinner that will feed four to six people generously with vegetables that were a day or two from being tossed? The tofu was a bargain as well.