Miso orange stir-fry

Tam West

I fell in love with Urban Hippie miso at the Nelson market recently. It is New Zealand’s only locally-made miso and you can buy online at miso.co.nz or at speciality food stores. This stir-fry was the first thing I made with it when I got home. It’s ideal as a coating for the veges and gives a savoury depth to the very spicy peanut sauce. Fresh turmeric is becoming more available in the shops, it’s rich and earthy and contains compounds that have powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and antibacterial properties. The bright orange colour (stain warning) made me think of orange zest and, with garlic, the flavours all work well together. Add the veges in stages as you stir-fry them, starting with the ones that take longer to cook. This helps keeps everything in the pan searing hot – if you pile everything in at the start it all just gets slowly warmed rather than flash-fried. Splashing a tiny bit of water in while they cook creates steam which speeds up the process. Peeling the broccoli stalks removes the tough outer layer, turning them into my favourite part of the plant – sweet and juicy. We often have cooked tofu as leftovers in the fridge and it adds protein to this stir-fry. If making tofu specially for this, just fry it in a little vegetable oil and splash a bit of soy sauce and garlic on to coat with flavour.

Miso peanut sauce

½ Tbsp	Sesame oil
3 cloves	Garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp	Black pepper
¼ tsp	Chilli seasoning, Japanese style
2 Tbsp	Miso paste (Main)
3 Tbsp	Peanut butter, crunchy
¾ cup	Water

Miso coating

2 Tbsp	Miso paste (Main)
1	Orange, juiced
½ Tbsp	Sesame oil
¼ tsp	Black pepper
¼ tsp	Chilli seasoning, Japanese style
2 Tbsp	Peanut oil, or coconut oil
½	Oranges, zested
3 cm	Turmeric, fresh, peeled and finely chopped (Main)
3 cloves	Garlic, finely chopped
1 small	Leek, white, sliced into diagonals
1	Carrot, cut into strips
1 stick	Celery, cut into strips
1 head	Broccoli, a small one, cut into bite-sized pieces, including the peeled stem
6	Mushrooms, cut into quarters
2 medium	Tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 serving	Tofu, if you have leftovers, optional
1 serving	Brown rice, or quinoa, cooked, to serve

Directions

1. To make the sauce, heat sesame oil in a small saucepan and add garlic, pepper and chilli seasoning. Fry for 30 seconds. Add miso and peanut butter and stir to melt, then add about ¾ cup hot water and stir well to combine. Simmer for a few minutes then take off the heat until ready to serve. Check thickness just before serving and, if needed, add a little more water while reheating until you get the right consistency.
2. Mix all the coating ingredients together.
3. Get a heavy frying pan or wok nice and hot then add the oil and orange zest, give it a few seconds to sizzle. Add the garlic and turmeric. Toss in the oil for a few more seconds then add the leek and carrot. Give them a minute to get hot before adding the celery and broccoli, stirring frequently. After another couple of minutes splash a tablespoon of water in to create steam then add the mushrooms and tomato (and leftover tofu if available).
4. Cook for just a few minutes more, until slightly softened then add the miso coating and cook, stirring, for another minute to coat everything well.
5. Serve with brown rice or quinoa and peanut sauce.