Thanks to the csa and all the produce I get every week, I have been making stir fries like it is my job. Because of this, I have also started experimenting with my own sauces to get away from the store brands (and all their saltiness.) I whipped a yummy sweet/sour sauce and realized shortly after that I needed to find different way to use this sauce- it was that good!
Enter in a re-vamp of the stuffed pepper.
When most people think of stuffed peppers, they think of ground beef, tomatoes, and rice. I kept the rice and tossed out the rest. I mean, you don’t really need to cram a bunch of beef into a pepper to make it taste good.
The result was a delicious, vegan stuffed pepper. I think I know how to slowly move away from eating stir fries all the time!
I also think this would be great with another grain like quinoa. (I’m actually surprised I didn’t use quinoa considering my kick recently!)
- Sauce:
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ cup diced pineapple
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon ketchup
- ½ tablespoon agave (or honey)
- 2 tablespoon vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- Pepper:
- ¼ cup brown rice
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup purple cabbage
- ¼ cup onion
- ¼ cup green pepper
- 1 medium whole pepper
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Cook brown rice according to package. I usually cook the rice 1 part rice to 2 parts water for about 30-40 minutes. If the rice is not quite done when you are ready to assemble, go ahead and use the rice anyway. It will continue to cook while pepper is in the oven.
- In a small sauce pan, heat sesame oil over medium heat. Add in pineapple and garlic, cooking until garlic is fragrant (1-2 minutes). Combine cornstarch and vegetable broth in a small bowl, set aside. Add in remaining ingredients into the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, add in cornstarch mixture, and continue to stir until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Add in onions, diced green pepper, and cabbage. Cook until onions and peppers are soft and cabbage has wilted. Add to rice.
- Preheat oven to 350˚. With your whole pepper, cut off a small part of the top. Hollow out the inside (I used a grapefruit spoon) and place on a baking sheet. Add the sauce to the cabbage/rice mixture and stir until well combined. Scoop into pepper and cook for 30-40 minutes until pepper is soft. (If you are pressed for time, cook pepper separately and add mixture into the cooked pepper, just make sure the rice is done.)
