Stir-fried Pork with Chili

Ingredients

Preparation Method

• Heat a wok over high flame and add the vegetable oil. When hot, add the garlic and stir-fry until its fragrance is released.
• Add the pork and stir-fry until it browns. Add the chillies and onion. Stir just to mix, then season with the fish sauce and sugar.

This can be quite a mild dish. I like to add a little cracked pepper to spice it up a bit more.
 

I got the original recipe for this off the Internet many, many years ago, and I don’t think I’ve changed it too much. This is a really easy recipe, as it basically just takes "one of everything" – one whole onion, a whole bell pepper, a whole can (standard can size of 15.5 ounce or 425 gram) of corn, another of beans (I prefer black beans, but pinto beans are good). The ‘secret’ to getting the taste right is probably the salsa. Use a "fresh" salsa (not taco sauce) made with chopped tomatoes, onions, chilies, etc.

Prepared vegetarian burrito filling

Ingredients

Preparation Method

• Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the oil and sauté the onion and bell pepper until soft.
• Stir in the sweet corn, beans, salsa and seasonings. Mix well and allow it to come to a simmer, then remove from heat.
• For the best taste, store the filling in the refrerator overnight before using. The mixture will keep in a tightly covered refrigerated container for at least a week.

Prepared vegetarian burritos (with cheese)

Serving Suggestion

Warm up some of the filling in a microwave. Using a non-stick skillet, heat up a soft flour tortilla. Spoon one or two tablespoons of the filling onto the tortilla. Add some cheese, lettuce, sour cream or whatever is your taste, and roll up the burrito.

Alternatively, you can add one or two tablespoons of the mix to rice as it’s cooking. It works best if you add it 5 to 8 minutes before the rice is done.

Onions on sale in the market.

Onions are among the most ancient of cultivated vegetables. No one is quite sure when or where they were first cultivated. They were mentioned in first dynasty Egyptian texts dating back to 3200 B.C. In later years, we know that bread, beer and onions were the important rations to the highly valued artisans who decorated the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

Although Egypt was the first to record onions, many think that cultivation first began in ancient Iran and Pakistan. One of the reasons it’s hard to know for sure is that there are hundreds of varieties of wild onions spread throughout temperate climates all around the world.