June 26, 2026
Friday happy hour at #Vanaprastha. Vietnamese stir fry with the first of the season cucumber from our garden. Recipe and stories on Substack tomorrow.
Whew, it’s been a week of celebrations, from last Saturday’s family burgers and brats to Sunday Father’s Day and our son Alex’s birthday, Tuesday afternoon with our granddaughter at the Montebello Fish Hatchery and her mom joining us for dinner: beefy cheese ravioli with spinach, tossed salad, and banana snack cake with homemade vanilla ice cream. On Thursday, Keith and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary at The Ivy Inn Restaurant, and last night’s Happy Hour.
We did a little looking back over the past twenty years: both of us changing careers, building the mountain house together and moving, losing parents, friends, and dogs, gaining church and writing communities, friends, neighbors, dogs, and best of all a granddaughter. Keith and I are greatly blessed.
Last night’s happy hour meal was two-thumbs up. Not sure what makes it Vietnamese, but that’s what the newspaper recipe called it. The sauce is similar to teriyaki. Cooking noodles then broccoli separately, adding to the stir fry at the end, made the texture of everything come out just right. Next time, I’m going to try substituting beef, chicken, firm fish or shellfish for pork. A quick, easy, healthy meal.
Vietnamese Pork Stir Fry, Serves 2
Ingredients:
4 garlic cloves crushed
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons reduced salt soy sauce
3 teaspoons ground ginger
3 tablespoons water
¾-pound pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sliced onion
4 ounces thin dried rice noodles—I used medium-sized Thai noodles.
2 tablespoons sesame oil
4 cups broccoli florets
Directions:
Combine garlic, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, and 2 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes or until sugar is melted. Remove from heat and add pork to sauce and let sit for 5 minutes turning the meat over 2 or 3 times. Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan 3/4 full of water to a boil and add the rice noodles. Boil for 3 minutes add the broccoli to the water for 1 minute. (I added about 30 seconds to both the noodle cooking and broccoli to accommodate their larger size.) Drain. Heat oil in a wok or large frying over high heat. Add the onion and sauté 2 minutes. Add the pork with the sauce. Cook tossing the pork with the onion for 2 minutes. Add the broccoli and rice noodles. Toss all the ingredients together for 2 to 3 minutes and serve.
That’s it for today. See you next week—with cucumbers to share! -C.D.
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Thanks for sharing!