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Tom Yum paste is magical. Just a little spoonful makes everything taste so much better and brings depth to a lot of dishes. I love to cook meat dishes with tom yum paste but lately I've been adding it to veggies and I can't seem to get enough. This dish is simple yet tastes good enough to eat on its own with rice.
Tom Yum Fried Green Beans
Ingredients
1lb green beans, ends trimmed
1 tablespoon oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1-2 tablespoon tom yum paste
Directions
1. Heat oil in pan and add garlic and cook until fragrant.
2. Add green beans and stir fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add 1/4 water and cover for a few minutes.
4. Check to see if water has dried up. If it has and beans are not cooked, add more water.
5. When beans are tender, add soy sauce and tom yum paste and mix until beans are coated in the paste. Taste and adjust tom yum paste and soy sauce as desired.
6. Serve with rice. 
I was inspired by reading a blog a few weeks ago (and for the life of me, I can't seem to remember the name) where the person used mock, or vegetarian "duck". As I had never tried it before, and it looked so duck-like in the photo, I had a strong urge to try it and I looked for it at the grocery store and luckily I found some. I kept wanting to open the can to taste it but couldn't figure out what I should make with it. Earlier this week, I had some garlic stems and wanted something to add to it to make it heartier and I immediately thought of the mock duck. When I opened the can the "duck" had little raised dots on the "skin" just like real duck does and it smelt like soy sauce. The verdict? The texture is quite soft and the primary taste was of soy sauce. Not very duck-like but quite good nevertheless. It makes a good addition to a dish when you just need something a little more substantial. You could also use it to make noodle soup with mock duck and some bok choy.
Garlic Stems with Mock Duck
Ingredients
1lb garlic stems
1 can mock duck, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 cup water
Directions
1. Wash garlic stems and trim ends. Cut to desired length. (I usually like to leave mine at 3".)
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the minced garlic. When garlic is fragrant, add the garlic stems.
3. Stir fry for 2 minutes until the garlic stems look dry. Add water at this point and cover pan with lid for a few minutes.
4. Uncover and check to see if water has dried. If the garlic stems look tender yet still crisp, add the soy sauce and oyster sauce and stir to coat. If the garlic stems are still not tender, add a bit more water and cover for another 2 minutes.
5. When the garlic stems are coated in the soy and oyster sauce, add the shredded duck and stir fry until the duck is heated through.
6. Serve with rice and enjoy! 
