THE CHINESE HERB GARDEN - Growing Chinese Vegetables in Your Own Backyard - page 135

CULINARY USES
While hot peppers must be used with discretion, they enhance a wide variety of
cuisines. They can be used both fresh and dried. Strings of dried red or green chilis
hung from the kitchen ceiling are a colorful as well as practical winter decoration.
STIR-FRY . To make a typical hot stir-fry dish, start with 1 chili pepper. (If that's not hot
enough, try 2 the next time you make it.) Stir-fry thinly sliced beef in peanut oil for 5
minutes, then add sliced scallions, minced ginger, and sliced chili pepper, plus a little
soy sauce and a small amount of water. Stir-fry another minute and add snow peas.
Stir-fry for 1 more minute, thicken the sauce with a little cornstarch, and serve with
white rice.
WITH EGGPLANT . A tasty and spicy eggplant dish starts with roasted eggplant. Take
the hot roasted eggplant out of its skin and combine with cut-up fresh tomatoes, green
beans, 1 or 2 onions, peas, a couple of minced chilis, and 3 raw potatoes, cut up. Cook
all together in a covered skillet with a little olive oil until the tomatoes are soft but not
mushy. Salt to taste and serve hot or cold.
SAUCE FOR FISH . Chili peppers and scallions, thinly sliced and fried lightly in oil, make
a delicious sauce for broiled fish. If the flavor is too strong for you, discard the peppers
and scallions after frying and use just the oil to dress the fish.
WITH PICKLES . If you make pickles, add a fresh chili pepper to the jar when you put it
away to “ripen”; remove the chili when serving the pickles.
DID YOU KNOW?
Hot peppers and garlic whirled in a blender with plain water make a spray that deters many insects when
misted on the foliage of your plants; it may even discourage an occasional woodchuck.
Cilantro
X IAN C HOY , Y AN S UI
Coriandrum sativum
(color photo, page xiv)