My friends had a rule when it came [...]]]> Back in high school, my friends and I often visited a Japanese restaurant in the center of our town.  Offering a traditional hibachi menu, it had enough options to satisfy each of our varying palates (read: I could eat rice and chicken and give my vegetables away).  

My friends had a rule when it came to Asian dinners.  Chopsticks were obligatory, for at least a full five minutes.  Most of them were well-schooled in chopstick manipulation, and as soon as our chef-actor had thrown the final bites onto our respective plates, they all dug enthusiastically in.  For those first five minutes, however, two of us struggled, fingers, sticks, and bite size piece of food sliding around our plates.  It wasn’t exactly a…classy sight.

To this day, I can’t understand how it is possible to eat rice without a fork.  I may have developed enough dexterity to enjoy sushi and a spicy Thai stir fry without my Western utensils, but rice remains a mystery.

Chopsticks or not, the goods remaining in my refrigerator tonight felt Asian-inspired, so I decided on a stir-fry.  When I was first learning to cook, stir fries were a choice I often returned to.  A recipe is unnecessary; all that is required are a few good vegetables, some flavor, some rice, and a little trial and error.

Tonight’s mix:

• baby bok choy
• string beans
• carrot
• bean sprouts
• 1/3 block tempeh
• tamari almonds

And for flavor:

• fresh basil
• fresh ginger
• sesame oil
• rice vinegar
• dulse flakes

All over brown rice, with a salad alongside.  There was a lot going on in this dish, but it worked.  Especially since I ate it with a fork and knife.

Are you a chopsticks pro?

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