Every day cod and green beans

In Chinese cooking, we refer to homemade meals as "simple every day meals" (家常便飯). At my house, our every day dishes (家常菜) consists mostly of stir fry dishes.  Thanks to our trusted Zojirushi rice cooker, I usually put the rice on timer, and then make the stir fry as soon as I get home.  Sometimes to save time, I would chop the vegetables and slice the meat in the morning.  And occasionally when I am very short on time or if I am out for the evening for work or community events, I would make the stir fry ahead of time and have one of the children re-heat the food at dinner time.  My youngest child is my usual side-kick for re-heating these days.

In addition to a rice cooker with timer, my other organizational aid is simply a list on the fridge which has the menu for the week all planned out (based on whatever groceries I bought on sale from Peapod that week).  Here is a picture of this week's menu.  Note that on Sunday I hadn't thought through to Saturday yet.  :)

And a closer look:

These days I have a non-vegetarian and a vegetarian choice for each day because my oldest child is completely vegetarian and I am semi-vegetarian.

So yesterday was one of these "every day meal days", which was great, because Monday's roast pork turned out to be a bigger production that a week day meal should be. (More about that on another post.)  Here is the recipe, quick and simple.  Make sure there is plenty of hot white rice to go with it. Jasmine rice from Thailand works best.

Every Day Cod and Green Beans

1 pound cod fillets, cut into bit sized pieces, about 1 inch by 0.5 inch each
1 pound green beans, trim the top and bottom of each stalk and cut into pieces 1.5-2 inches long
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 tablespoon cold water

Put cut green beans in a skillet.  Cover with cold water.  Then cover the skillet and heat the water to a boil.  Turn the heat down and simmer for 1-2 minutes, or under the green beans are just tender.  Do not overcook.  Drain the green beans in a colander and set aside.

Heat up the oil and quickly stir fry the chopped garlic until just brown.  Add the cod fillets, stir fry until the cod just turns from translucent to opaque (again try not to overcook.)  In the mean time, make the gravy by mixing the soy sauce, sugar, starch, and cold water.  It should be just a very light brown roux.*

Add the green beans to the cooked cod.  Add the roux and mix together quickly.  The sauce should just thicken a little with the heat to a glistening golden color.

Plate and enjoy with the cooked rice.

*This light brown sauce, my friends, is the essence of Cantonese cooking.  Play around with the proportions until you find a mix that suits your taste.  After almost 35 years of making this roux (獻汁)，I go by look and smell, so the proportions listed above are approximate.