EASY Vegetable Stir Fry Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret of stir-frying vegetables? ›

The key to stir-frying is to constantly stir. Your veggies must have enough room to move around in the wok. A -crowded wok will lead to veggies that are soggy instead of crunchy. If your wok is getting too full, cook your meat and then veggies in batches.

Aromatics in first- onion, leeks, garlic, ginger, chilli. Firm vegetables in second – like carrot, capsicum/bell peppers, stems of Asian Greens (Buk Choy in this recipe), zucchini / courgettes, eggplant, asparagus, canned baby corn, green beans, okra. Quicker cooking vegetables added next- snow peas, kale, cabbage.

According to Food & Wine, ketchup is the ultimate way to take the flavor of homemade stir fry up a level, thanks to its sweet and sour flavor profile. It just might be the easiest cooking hack to elevate your home cooking to that of your favorite take-out.

The first is to cook your protein and your vegetable separately, and combine them only after both are fully cooked. A second rule of thumb for stir-frying: Choose one vegetable per stir-fry. Finally, always remember to add liquid only after everything is more or less finished cooking.

Stir-fry onions first, then add hard vegetables such as carrot and broccoli. Quick-cooking vegetables, such as snow peas, leafy greens and bean sprouts, should be added towards the end of cooking. If using vegies that have a combination of both textures, such as gai laan, add the stems first and the leaves later.

In a small bowl, stir bouillon granules, cornstarch, sugar, onion, garlic, parsley, ginger and red pepper until blended. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Stir mixture before measuring. Use like any dry stir-fry mix.

Things get seriously hot when you stir-fry. Set yourself up for success by cooking with a fat that can take the heat. Some of our favorite oils for stir-fries are canola, vegetable, avocado, and grapeseed, all of which have high smoke points.

Cornstarch! In his book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman recommends mixing 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the same amount of water, and tossing this into the stir fry just when it's almost done. It thickens in seconds, picking up the flavors of everything already in the dish and coating evenly.

What is the crunchy thing in stir-fry? ›

What are those crunchy things in your stir-fry? They're water chestnuts, and they're surprisingly good for you! You probably already know a few things about water chestnuts. They're white and crunchy, and you'll find them in a ton of Asian-style stir fry dishes.

So many different oils, the good news is you can stick with what you know – canola is great! The best oils for stir frys are the oils with the higher smoke points. These tend to be the “thinner” oils such as peanut, grapeseed or canola.

Put a small amount of oil (1-2 tablespoons) in your wok. You won't typically need much oil - you're stir frying, not deep frying. At this point, you'll also want to add any seasoning and/or spices you're using in your dish.

Stir fry cooks fast and hot so make sure you are using your heaviest frying pan or wok and are stirring continuously. Don't overload your wok as the ingredients will become soggy. You can cook things in batches if necessary, for example, you can cook the protein first and set it aside to add back in later.