Vegetable Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

 

A long time ago I went to college with a guy named Jeff. We were friendly and I think he might have worked with me on the school newspaper for a while. At some point, we lost touch and then a couple of years later we reconnected for a short time. I don't remember a whole lot about how long we were friends for or why we stopped hanging out. What I do remember is that one time I went to his apartment and he made me stir fry and it was amazing.

That's the weird thing about food. It's such a tie to memory and people. I remember so well Jeff pottering around his tiny kitchen in Atlanta making this dish, splashing in a bit of this and a bit of that. It was the first time I'd ever seen anyone cook with rice wine vinegar. The first time I think I saw anyone cook with snow peas. It was a really delicious meal, the sauce accents the flavor of the peppers really well and the vinegar makes it bright and tangy. The peppers have just a little extra crunch, the mushrooms are sumptuous and rich, and the snow peas are bright, green and fresh.

I made this stir fry a lot more often when I was vegetarian. I still default back to it though, when I'm craving something warm and fresh and tangy. Normally I would make my own peanut sauce, but I've found that store bought is really really good in this dish and has the perfect balance. You can find it in the Asian section in the grocery store.

Vegetable Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

1 Red Bell Pepper, cut into strips

1 Green Bell Pepper, cut into strips

6 White Mushrooms, sliced

1/4 Cup of Snow Peas

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar

3 Tablespoons Peanut Sauce

Warm up the olive oil in a large frying pan or a wok if you have one. Make sure it gets nice and hot, then add the peppers. Add half the rice wine vinegar and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the mushrooms and stir around until the peppers are starting to get a little bit of color on them. You want them to stay a bit crispy. Add the snow peas and the rest of the rice wine vinegar and saute two more minutes. Add the peanut sauce and stir until warmed through.

Serve with rice and build a memory with an old friend. 

Makes 2 servings.