SERVES 4 TO 6
Slicing a zucchini lengthwise into thin ribbons (instead of crosswise into coins) is a revelation, or at least it was to me. The resulting tangle is a smashing addition to a plate, especially if you can mix green and gold zucchini.
A mandoline or a Benriner (page 58) is the best tool for the task. Some cheese slicers are up to the chore, as well as some surgeons.
Some vegetables, like carrots, will hold well for a relatively long time, but the general good-cooking rule is to use vegetables soon after buying them. Storing vegetables for more than several days robs them of the freshness and sweetness that were there on the farm.
For storing many vegetables at home, a cook’s great friend is a high-density polyurethane bag. These are the opaque plastic bags that are now a feature in many markets; unlike the slippery, clear plastic bags, they are exasperatingly difficult to open. This particular sort of bag has a semipermeable membrane whereby a vegetable can sweat (and most do) and not grow moldy or bad in its own juice.
Mushrooms—we use lots of them!—should not be kept in plastic. Leave them uncovered on the shelf so they can feast on the air.
Also, as much as it may rub against the puritanical grain, don’t wash or trim vegetables until ready to use them! The premature bath may salve your soul, but it starts the vegetable en route to rotting. Leave the water chestnuts muddy and let the bits of soil clinging to the leeks sit just where they are. They won’t pollute your refrigerator, and the vegetable will last longer and taste better than if you bathed it prematurely.
2 to 3 tablespoons Ma-La Oil (page 17), Five-Flavor Oil (page 13), or corn or peanut oil
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin julienne
2 pounds slender green and/or gold zucchini, tipped and cut lengthwise into ribbons 1/16 inch thin
3 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
¼ cup China Moon Double Stock (page 72), Vegetable Infusion (page 82), or unsalted chicken or vegetable stock
Roasted Szechwan Pepper-Salt (page 5)
1. Heat a wok or large heavy skillet over high heat until hot enough to evaporate a bead of water on contact. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl to glaze the pan. Reduce the heat to moderately high. When the oil is hot enough to sizzle a sliver of the bell pepper, add the bell pepper julienne and toss briskly for 1 minute. Add the zucchini and toss for 1 minute more. Adjust the heat to maintain a merry sizzle and drizzle a bit more oil down the side of the pan, if needed to prevent sticking.
2. Add the wine and stock mixture and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and steam-simmer the zucchini ribbons until they are tender, 1 to 1½ minutes. Turn off the heat. Season to taste with the pepper-salt. Depending upon the zucchini, there may be some liquid left in the pan.
3. Serve immediately. Arrange the vegetable ribbons in a pretty tangle and drizzle any pan juices evenly on top.
MENU SUGGESTIONS: This is an all-purpose vegetable accompaniment, as at home next to Yankee pot roast as it is alongside many of our simpler fish, poultry, and meat dishes.