I first made this mouth-watering Southeast Asia–style recipe with cultivated peaches and mushrooms in the 1970s. When I switched to using wild peaches and the fried-chicken mushroom, the dish got even better.
3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons arrowroot or kudzu
1/4 cup peanut oil, or as needed
3 cups fried chicken-mushrooms, chopped
1 small onion, sliced
3 frying peppers, seeded and sliced into strips
2 cups diced, drained firm tofu
2 tablespoons peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger
5 medium-size ripe peaches, pitted and diced
1 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts
2 tablespoons chopped fresh wild spearmint or other mint leaves, or 2 teaspoons dried, finely crumbled
2 teaspoons freshly ground cloves
2 teaspoons Angostura bitters (optional)
2 teaspoons Vege-Sal or 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1. Assemble all the ingredients.
2. Blend the apple juice, vinegar, and arrowroot in a blender.
3. Heat the peanut oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat, add the mushrooms, and stir-fry them for 5 minutes. Set them aside.
4. Add more oil to the wok, if necessary, and stir-fry the onions and peppers for 3 minutes. Set them aside.
5. Stir-fry the tofu and ginger for 3 minutes.
6. Add all cooked ingredients and the remaining ingredients to the wok and bring the contents to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring often.
Serve over noodles.
Serves 6 to 8