Veggies and Crab

Mmmm Veggies!

Today I planned to make a chicken and vegetable stir fry for dinner.  I forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer.  So I text my son.  The newly minted 16 year old.
Me: Good Morning! Could you take some chicken out to defrost.  I forgot and I want to cook it for dinner.
Him: k
Me: Thanks!
Him: .

So I went about my day figuring on chicken to cook for dinner.  I get home, get all the vegetables out.  Found some fresh ginger I forgot I had.  Discovered I still had garlic cloves.  And they were still edible!  Cut it all up and felt very organized and accomplished.  Then I looked around for the star ingredient.  There was not a defrosted piece of chicken to be found in my kitchen.  And no, it wasn't hiding.  I looked.

Text my son again:
Me: Did you put the chicken somewhere?
Him: chicken?
Me: Never mind.

But, as luck and my compulsive planning would have it, I found imitation crab in the freezer.  I bought it at the Korean market last time I was there.  Just in case I needed a quick dinner.  Always prepared, that's me.


Ok, not always.  But mostly.  And I'm good at surrounding myself with people who are better prepared than I am.  Don't tell them.  They'll just get cocky.

So the recipe....pretty easy and fast.
Ingredients:
Imitation Crab (or chicken if your kid listens well enough to have defrosted it for you)
Broccoli
Summer Squash
Bok Choy/Napa Cabbage
Fresh Ginger
Fresh Garlic
Ponzu Sauce - a citrusy soy sauce
Sweet Chili Sauce - Thai chili sauce, it's thick and sweet and reddish

Grate the ginger and mince the garlic.  Use however much you like.  I use 2 garlic cloves and about a tablespoon of grated ginger.  But that's to my taste.  I don't know how that works for you.  As my grandmother always told me when I asked for advice "You have to know".  Meaning, figure it out.

Chop up the veggies and imitation crab into bite size pieces.  Heat oil in your wok or frying pan.  Again, how much you want to use is up to you.  Maybe you want to use a spray oil.  Give it a whirl.  Go nuts.

Once the oil is heated add the ginger and garlic.  Stir until fragrant or the cooking ginger makes you cough.  Add in the veggies.  Once they get heated up a bit add in some Ponzu sauce.  Once the veggies are about cooked add the imitation crab.  Cook the crab until heated, about a minute or so.  Add in some sweet chili sauce and a little more Ponzu.  Stir it up and taste it.  If it tastes good to you, congratulations!  You're done.  If not, add more of one of the sauces.  Or both.  Whatever.

This should only take about 20min from start to eating.  If it takes much longer than that you may want to review your time management skills.

Now I have to text my son again.  I'm going to tell him I'm raising his allowance.  I'm not really.  But I bet he remembers that when he gets home.