Finally Stir-Fry

Blogging about a veggie stir-fry is kind of cheating, I think. Everyone knows how to make stir-fry, right? It’s not difficult, just takes a little bit of prep work. Slicing and chopping and mincing, oh my!

Well, I’m doing it anyway, cause I ate it and it’s vegan and I have to put something on this blog every once in awhile.

And really, there may be a couple of people who are like me and need a recipe for the stir-fry sauce, and a how-to. But probably not. But here it is anyway.

Pre-step one: Start your noodles or rice early enough so that as soon as your stir-fry is done it can be served. This comes together very quickly, and you want to serve it hot, right when it’s done.

Step one: Chop all of the veggies you want in your stir-fry. I decided on onion (not an option, you just have to choose which kind of onion you want. I had yellow that needed using up), broccoli, cabbage (napa for me), red yellow and orange bell pepper, kale (can use spinach instead or in addition to, but you should have a dark green veggie in there somewhere), cauliflower, carrots, celery, green and yellow squash, and mushrooms. Mmmm, mushrooms…

Step two: Heat your pan, then heat the oil over medium heat until nice and hot.

Step three: Add your onion and cook until soft.

Step four: Turn heat up to medium-high, then add the veggies that take longest to cook.

This would be your broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, cauliflower, bell pepper, and in this case, kale. If I were using spinach I would throw that in last, because it cooks very quickly.

So pretty!

Step…next: Stir everything together, bringing up your onions from the bottom, so that everything is coated with the oil. Cook for a few minutes (five to seven or so. You want them to become bright, and begin to soften), stirring them every couple of minutes.

Add your quicker-cooking veggies and do the same thing you did with the other ones.

Once they are tender, but not all the way cooked through, add your stir-fry sauce and stir to coat all veggies.

Before we move on, can we just take a moment to appreciate the total lack of photography skills involved in this shot? Honestly. This calls into question whether or not I actually know how to use a camera. It was late and I was tired, not to mention hungry, but is there really any excuse for something this bad? I say no.
Moving on, then…

Mmmm, shiny, saucy, tender-crisp veggies.

Finally, stir-fry:

I served this over hot, short-grain brown rice. The reason you don’t see it is because after this picture was taken I sauteed some Trader Joe’s “Chickenless Chicken Strips”, coated them in the rest of the stir-fry sauce, and tossed it all together. The reason you don’t see that picture is because I wouldn’t recommend you doing that unless you like the taste of super gross fake meat. Just trust me and eat it straight up veggie over rice or noodles.

Here is the stir-fry sauce I used, adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook:

Basic Stir-Fry Sauce:
¼ c soy sauce
1¼ c water
1½ T ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t sesame oil
1 T sugar
1 T plus 1t cider vinegar
2T dry sherry or mirin (I didn’t have this so I skipped it and it was still amazing)
3 T cornstarch

Stir together all ingredients except for the corn starch in a 2 to 4 cup measuring cup . Put the cornstarch in a bowl and add the liquid ingredients, whisking it together as you pour. Add to veggies when ready, stir till thickened and coating all veggies.

I hope you love this. One last point–do have a large wok or big pan if you’re going to be making this for 4 or more people. I have a small, silly really, non-stick pan, so I had to do it in batches. Please, people, don’t be like me.

Ever.

Advertisement