Vegetable Stir Fry with Teriyaki Sauce
(Serves 4-6)
This is an easy stir fry that doesn’t get stirred! Layering vegetables is the key to this quick, delicious dish. Don’t be discouraged at the length of the recipe…these are mostly suggestions.
Choose 4 cups mixed fresh vegetables, cut into bite size pieces. I suggest picking 4-6 vegetables of a variety of colors (not including onion) largely depending on what veggies you have on hand. Be sure to pick contrasting colors and textures.
2 Tbs light sesame oil
1 Tbs dark toasted sesame oil
½ tsp sea salt
Vegetable Suggestions:
Longest cooking vegetables:
Carrots – cut diagonal or into matchsticks
String beans- cut in half
Red, green, or yellow bell peppers – ½ cup sliced
Red or Green Cabbage – ½ cup sliced
Longer cooking vegetables:
Broccoli – cut into bite size pieces
Cauliflower – cut into bite size pieces
Quicker cooking vegetables:
Bok choy or Napa cabbage bottoms – sliced
Green zucchini squash- sliced diagonally or into matchsticks
Yellow summer squash- sliced diagonally or into matchsticks
Quickest cooking vegetables:
Snow peas or snap peas – ½ cup sliced in half
Mung Bean sprouts- ½ cup
Bok choy green tops
Teriyaki sauce
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup water
2 tsp arrowroot or organic cornstarch
1 tsp ginger, grated
½ tsp garlic, minced
1 Tbs white vinegar
1 Tbs sugar
1. For teriyaki sauce, combine soy sauce, water, and arrowroot or cornstarch in a small pot. Stir to dissolve. Add ginger juice (see Bite of Insight below), garlic, vinegar, and sugar. Simmer on low, while stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until it thickens. Remove from stove and set aside. This is your sauce to add to the stir fry after it comes off the stove. Adding this to the vegetables while cooking will result in unappetizing brown colored vegetables.
2. Preheat oils in frying pan. Add onion and sauté for 2 minutes on medium-high heat. Add other longer cooking vegetables first: carrots, cabbage, and red pepper; cover and cook for 1-2 minutes. Vegetables will cook longer as more layers are added.
3. Increase heat to high and wait a minute until the pan gets hot. Now add broccoli and cauliflower without stirring. Quickly add ¼ cup of cold water and salt to the pan, and replace lid immediately. Cook at high heat for another 3 minutes. Longer cooking vegetables mentioned above will brighten in color but still feel firm when poked with a fork.
4. Reduce heat to medium-high and add other vegetables such as summer squash or bok choy bottoms and cook for an additional minute. Now add bok choy leaves and sugar snap peas, cover and simmer another minute without stir frying. Check vegetables, they should not be overcooked.
Note: If you like it hot and spicy, add a dash of hot sesame oil. If you like a sweet and sour sauce, add l tsp of apple cider vinegar and 2 tsp of honey or other natural sweetener.
Bites of Insight: You don’t need to peel ginger. The skin is quite clean, similar to a carrot peel and is edible; it is just a tougher fiber. With a handheld ginger grater or small handheld cheese grater, grate ginger into a small ball of pulp. Squeeze this pulp in the palm of your hand into the sauce, and discard pulp.
