The 21 ingredients:
The Stir Fry Oil:
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced shallots
2–5 thai chili peppers, finely diced
1 teaspoon oil
The Vegetables:
1/4 head of cauliflower, riced
1 cup snow peas, chopped to preference
1 cup shredded carrots
1 handful mung bean sprouts (1–2 cups, to taste)
2–4 thin-sliced rings of a sweet red bell pepper, chopped to taste
23 small pieces of broccoli
1/4 cup green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup bamboo shoots (stripped preferred, sliced acceptable)
1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts (cubed will do in a pinch)
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
3–4 leaves fresh basil, chopped
Optional:
1/2 baked/grilled chicken breast, diced
The seasoning:
2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon (ish) fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
6 or so dashes of Accent seasoning (aka MSG, pure unadulterated MSG)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon powdered lemongrass
Cooking Instructions:
Combine all the vegetables except the water chestnuts, bamboo and basil into a large bowl, along with the chicken.
Add the garlic, shallots, chili peppers and oil to a wok. Stir fry 1–2 minutes until color becomes a consistent reddish gold.
Add the riced cauliflower, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Stir fry until the combination approaches the consistency of fried rice.
Add the water chestnuts and the bamboo shoots to the mixture, stir fry for 1–2 minutes.
Add the bow of vegetables and chicken to the stir fry. Immediately add the soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, MSG, ginger and lemongrass. Stir Fry for 4–6 minutes, stirring every minute or so. Press the mixture against the sides of the wok, clearing the center. Let the liquid from the mixture drain to the center of the bowl and boil off. Not all the mixture will boil off, but allow it to. One minute prior to finishing the stir fry, add the fresh basil to the mix and give it one good stir. After another minute, turn off the heat, and allow remaining moisture to re-absorb into the mixture.
Serve in one large bowl.
725 calories with the chicken, 600 without.
You may adjust the chili peppers to taste. One pepper will be a restaurant-level medium, two will be restaurant-level spicy. Three will be spicier than anything you find in most Asian restaurants, more than four will be found only at the most masochistic, authentic Thai restaurants. Be warned.
This dish has wonderful anti-inflammatory properties and helps greatly with my chronic headaches borne of fused vertebrae.
Edit: I should also point out that this meal has basically zero carbs, and is predominantly vegetables. I made the chicken optional in this version. I’ve tried it once or twice with various fake chickens, but I’ve not nailed a totally vegetarian version yet. Experimentation on that front continues. I do love this, though, because it fills me up, and lets me not worry about food for several hours. It’s a BIG dish. Most people would probably find it too large for one. If, for some reason, you have left overs, I recommend re-heating over a wok, and within a day or so.
