Easy Stir Fry (feat. Napa Cabbage)

We have recently been on a napa cabbage kick. It all started when we bought a big napa cabbage head to make fish tacos (I need to post that recipe too - yum!). We had so much left, I just thought I'd throw it into a simple stir fry to use it up. Michael LOVED it and we've been making variations of the stir fry ever since.

First, check what you have in the fridge. Do you have a couple carrots hanging around? Great... shred them up! Do you have half a carton of mushrooms that you need to use? Great... slice them up! Do you have some garlic cloves and some onions that you need to use before they sprout? Fabulous! You have a stir fry!

INGREDIENTS
1 head napa cabbage (chopped)
1 sliced onion
3 or more cloves of garlic
sliced ginger (optional - I don't like ginger so I leave it out)
sliced chicken breast or pork (optional)
any other veggies you want to add (sliced mushrooms, sliced zucchini, shredded carrots, green beans, and whatever else you think would taste yummy)

Sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
3 tablespoons soy sauce (low-sodium if you've got it)
1 tablespoon Mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper or a spoonful of Chinese red pepper sauce
And these are not exact measurements - if you like it saltier, put more soy sauce in, and if you like it spicier, put more hot sauce in. Have fun with it!

DIRECTIONS
First, put all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix them up. Set aside.

If you're not making this vegetarian, splash some vegetable oil in a hot wok or skillet and cook up the sliced meat. Also, feel free to sprinkle some pepper on it if you like black pepper. Once cooked, scoop into bowl and set aside.

Make sure there's still some oil in the bottom - if not, splash some more in. Now put in the "thicker" veggies that take longer to cook (onions, carrots, green beans, etc) Stir that around until they are cooked and a little limp (about two or three minutes) then scoop into a bowl and set aside.

Now for the rest of the veggies - cabbage, mushrooms, zucchini, garlic - if they don't all fit in the wok or skillet, just do half at a time. Trust me, the cabbage will cook down a lot.

After you've cooked everything, put it all back in the wok or skillet and spoon in the sauce to taste. Then serve over steamed rice!