VEGETABLES CUISINE

RATATOUILLE-STUFFED PEPPER HALVES
makes 6 side-dish servings

INDGREDIENTS :
3 large bell peppers (1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green or combination)
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
1 small eggplant (3/4 pound/335 g) unpeeled, cut into 1/2inch cubes
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large tomato, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 cup (250 ml) sliced fresh mushrooms
½ teaspoon (2 ml) each dried basil and oregano leaves, crushed
½ teaspoon (2ml) salt
Dash ground black pepper
Dash ground red pepper
1 zucchini, quartered and cut into ½ inch (1.5 cm) chunks
Plum tomato slices and fresh basil leaves for garnish

HOW TO MAKE :

1 .Cut bell pepper (including stem) in half lengthwise.
2. Scrape out seeds and membrane with spoon, being careful not to cut through shell. Rinse out pepper halves under running water; drain.
3. To steam pepper halves, place steamer basket in large saucepan or stockpot; add 1 inch (2.5cm) of water. (water should not touch bottom of basket). Place pepper halves, cut sides up., in steamer basket; cover. Bring to a boil; steam 5 minutes or until peppers are crisp-tender. Add water, as necessary, to prevent pan from boiling dry. Plunge pepper halves into ice water to stop cooking. Place pepper halves in 13x9-inch (32.5x22.5 cm) baking dish.
4. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Cook eggplant and onion in hot oil 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, tomato, mushroom, basil, oregano, salt, ground black pepper and ground red pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add zucchini; simmer 5 minutes more or until mixture thickens slightly.
5. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Spoon mixture evenly into pepper halves. Bake 15 minutes or until heated through. Garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.

SOY SAUCES AND SPICY SAUCES

Aroma : the taste of soy sauces is salty, spicy and depending on type, slightly sweet.
Use: Soy sauce is the most important flavoring in Asian cuisine. It goes well with meat, fish, poultry, and vegetarian dishes. In particular, it is suitable for marinating tofu, spicing sauces and soups and as a seasoning for the table. Soy sauce is a dip for sushi.
Buying/storing : Soy sauce is available in supermarkets, Asian specialty stores or in delicatessens. It is available bottled. One cup bottles are preferable because soy sauce loses its aroma if store open for a long time. Although storing the product in open bottles at room temperature does not harm the product, it is better to store soy sauce in the refridgerator.

Tips for cooking : You can season both cold and hot dishes with soy sauce. Do not underestimate the salt content in soy sauce. Adding additional salt is usually not necessary.

There are 2 kinds of soy beans sauces :
SOY SAUCE :
- Chinese soy sauce : The original Chinese soy sauce is prepared purely from soy beans. There are two types: dark and light. The dark sauce can be store longer that the light sauce and its taste is milder.
- Japanese Soy sauce : It is also called ‘shoyu’ and was probably developed 1,000 years later than the Chinese soy sauce. It consistc of only soy beans and wheat. In Japan, thera are two types of soy sauce : light and dark. The light soy sauce is saltier but milder in taste. You cannot store it very long and Amazake, a sweet liquid, is added to it during the fermentation process.

SPICY SOY-BASED SAUCE
- Bean sauce : Bean sauce is a dark, thick sauce popular mainly in northern and wester China and it contains fermented soy beans. There are two variations : mild and spicy variant, depending on the different spice and salt contents.
- Kecap Bango : Kecap Bango is an Indonesian sauce enhance with spices, herbs and sugar. You can distinguish between slightly sweetened sauce with addition of ‘asin’ and intensely sweetened sauce with ‘manis’.
- Hoisin Sauce : Hoisinsauce is a Chinese variant of soy sauce. It contains soy paste, garlic, sesame oil, vinegar, chili and spices. It differs from other spicy sauces by its red color. It is served with Peking duck.
- Teriyaki : Teriyaki is a special Japanese soy sauce. Additionally, teriyaki sauce contains wine, vinegar, sugar and Asian spices. It is ideal for grilling. Use it to marinate or rub on grilled meat. Owing to the sugar content, the meat caramelizes and turns an attractive color.
- Tamari : Tamari is another type of soy sauce produced by lactic acid fermentation. It is by-product of Miso production. Tamari is milder and usually less salty than normal soy sauce. It contains no wheat.
- Miso : Miso is a brown paste made from soy beans and is very popular in Japan. It is used to prepare miso soup. Miso is dissolved in water and cooked with rice, vegetables and meat.

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