My Mother’s Stir-fried Pumpkin in Black Bean Sauce

Nowhere does the principle that necessity is the mother of invention apply more than to this recipe, in which my mother combines sweet pumpkin with a savoury black bean sauce. In China, a variety of squashes and melons is available and enjoyed. However, in Chicago’s Chinatown, with its long, cold Midwestern winters, we were limited to a narrow range of Chinese vegetables. Out of necessity, we learned to adopt local American vegetables and adapt them to our taste.

My mother stir-frie