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Saucy Vegetable Stir Fry Recipe

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4.7 from 62 reviews

A quick and versatile Chinese-style saucy vegetable stir fry featuring a medley of fresh vegetables tossed in a flavorful, glossy gravy. Perfect for a healthy mains or side dish, this stir fry can be customized with your favorite veggies and optional firm tofu for added protein. Ready in just 15 minutes, it’s an easy weeknight meal served best over rice or cauliflower rice.

Ingredients

Vegetables

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp ginger, finely sliced (optional)
  • 1/2 onion, peeled and sliced
  • 1 large carrot
  • 3 medium buk choy or other leafy greens of choice
  • 1 cup mushrooms, sliced 3mm / 1/8″ thick
  • 1 capsicum, sliced 1/2cm / 1/5″ thick

Sauce

  • 1 tbsp cornflour / corn starch
  • 1 1/2 tbsp light or all purpose soy sauce (not dark soy)
  • 2 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine or mirin
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional)
  • Dash of white pepper (or black pepper)
  • 3/4 cup (185 ml) water

Garnishes (optional)

  • Finely sliced green onions
  • Sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Vegetable Preparation: Cut the carrot in half lengthwise and then slice diagonally to about 2mm thickness. For the buk choy, trim the base and separate the leaves from the stems. Cut the stems lengthwise into 1cm wide pieces to ensure even cooking. Keep leaves and stems separate as you will cook them at different times.
  2. Prepare the Sauce: In a bowl, mix the cornflour and soy sauce until the cornflour is fully dissolved. Add the oyster sauce, Chinese cooking wine or mirin, sesame oil if using, white pepper, and water. Stir well to combine into a smooth sauce.
  3. Heat the Oil and Aromatics: Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok or large heavy-based skillet over high heat. Add the finely chopped garlic and ginger, stir-frying quickly for about 10 seconds until fragrant.
  4. Sauté Onions and Hard Vegetables: Add the sliced onion to the wok and stir for 30 seconds. Then add the carrot, capsicum, and buk choy stems. Stir-fry these for 1 minute to loosen and start cooking the harder vegetables.
  5. Add Mushrooms: Incorporate the sliced mushrooms into the wok and continue stir-frying for 2 to 3 minutes until the vegetables are nearly cooked but still crisp-tender.
  6. Thicken with Sauce: Pour the prepared sauce over the vegetables. Toss everything together for about 1 minute over high heat until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy, coating all the vegetables evenly. Avoid overcooking to keep the vegetables crisp.
  7. Finish and Serve: Remove the stir fry from heat. Serve immediately over steamed rice or cauliflower rice for a low-carb option. Garnish with finely sliced green onions and sesame seeds if desired. Adding a dollop of chili sauce is optional for a spicy kick.

Notes

  • Buk choy stems take longer to cook than the leaves, so separate and add leaves towards the end of cooking if using. Cut stems evenly for uniform cooking.
  • Use light or all-purpose soy sauce to avoid overpowering the dish; do not use dark soy sauce. For gluten free, substitute with tamari.
  • Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) adds authentic flavor and depth to the sauce. Mirin or dry sherry are good substitutes. Non-alcoholic option is low sodium chicken broth replacing water.
  • Charlie is an all-purpose stir fry sauce; for this recipe, substitute the sauce with 4 tablespoons of Charlie, 3/4 tsp cornflour, and 3/4 cup water.
  • Nutrition facts exclude rice or other serving bases.

Find it online: https://recipebychef.com/saucy-vegetable-stir-fry-recipe/