GOURMET CHOP SUEY
Meatless chop suey can be a humdrum catch-all of vegetables, or it can be, as this dish is the vegetable kingdom's summer festival in a wok. Serves 4.
1 cup diced cabbage
1 pound young string beans, sliced (or 5 ounces frozen french beans, thawed and drained)
1 stalk celery,. sliced diagonally
1 broccoli stalk, peeled and sliced diagonally (reserve florets for other use)
4 dried mushrooms, pre-soaked and sliced
4 large fresh mushrooms
1 large onion
8 slices water chestnut (fresh or canned)
1/2 pound fresh asparagus tips (or 5 ounces frozen, thawed and drained)
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon monosodium glutamate
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 large juicy tomato, peeled
1/2 pound fresh bean sprouts (optional)
Cut up cabbage, string beans, celery, broccoli stalk, and the soaked, dried mushrooms as indicated; set aside.Slice fresh mushrooms, onion, water chestnut, and asparagus tips in uniform straight slices. Pound garlic clove. Mix together salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, and pepper.
Heat oil; toss in garlic and cook until it stops sizzling; remove. Put in tomato and press it free of juices with
a spoon.Add sliced broccoli stalk, celery, cabbage, string beans, dried mushrooms and onion; stir-fry. Next put in fresh mushrooms, water chestnut, and asparagus tips, and continue stir-frying. Add bean sprouts and salt mixture and stir-fry for another minute or so. Dish up piping hot.
This chop suey can be made more sumptuous with leftover chicken, beef, or pork, slivered and stirred in just before serving.
