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The Kitchen Table

Favorite veggies to stir fry?

18 years ago

I'm getting tired of the same old celery, carrots, brocolli and bean sprouts.

What are your favs?

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Comments (7)

msmarion
18 years ago
Broccoli, cauliflower, pea pods, sugar snap peas, summer squash and zucchini.
azzalea
18 years ago
To me, making a stir-fry is like making vegetable soup. Anything and everything I have hanging around goes in.
I always start with some onions, garlic, and bell pepper. And generally add your standby's--celery, carrots, broccoli. And usually some cauliflower. Shredded cabbage is SO good--it adds some sweetness. Also: pea pods, mushrooms, diced or sliced water chestnuts. Maybe a little leftover asparagus or green beans. Sometimes I add meat--could be leftover cooked chicken, or a few slices of julienned roast beef, or some diced roast pork. If you want to turn your stir-fry into fried rice, you can add a scrambled egg and rice.

Or how about doing chicken, onion, green pepper, pineapple chunks and adding some teriyaki sauce?

And you can go in another direction entirely. Stir-fry a bunch of Italian-type veg (onion, garlic, zuchini, green beans,tomatoes, etc in olive oil) and serving as a sauce over pasta.
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Here are some sauces I sometimes make on the weekend and refrigerate, if I plan on stir-frying later that week. STIR FRY SAUCES Each recipe makes 2 servings but can be doubled. BASIC STIR FRY SAUCE 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil 1/2 tsp. minced garlic 1/2 tsp. minced ginger 1/2 cup chicken broth 1 Tbs. soy sauce 1 Tbs. brown sugar 1/8 tsp. Tabasco 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 1/2 tsp. lemon or lime juice 1 1/2 tsp.cornstarch 1 Tbs. rice wine or sherry Heat the sesame oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry 15-30 second over medium heat to bring out the flavor. Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bring just to a boil, stirring. Dissolve the cornstarch in the wine and whisk into the sauce. Heat until sauce thickens and reaches a full boil. Simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside. GARLIC SESAME STIR FRY SAUCE 1/2 tsp. pepper 2 Tbs. soy sauce 3 Tbs. chicken broth 1 Tbs. sugar 2 1/4 tsp. lemon juice 1/3 cup sesame oil 2 1/4 tsp. minced garlic 1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 1/2 tsp. water Combine the pepper, soy sauce, chicken broth, sugar and lemon juice. In a small saucepan heat the sesame oil. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute until soft but not browned. Add the soy sauce mixture and bring just to a boil. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let boil 20 seconds. Remove from the heat. SZECHUAN STIR FRY SAUCE 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil 1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger 1/2 tsp. minced garlic 1/2 cup chicken broth 2 whole anise stars 1 1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar 1 Tbs. soy sauce 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tsp. hoisin sauce 1/8 tsp. Tabasco sauce 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp. pepper 1/8 tsp. 5 spice powder 2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbs. water Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and saute 1 minute until softened but not browned. In a bowl combine the remaining except for the cornstarch mixture. Add them to the saucepan and bring to a simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove star anise. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let boil 1-2 minutes. Taste and add more Tabasco if desired. Adapted from The Frog/Commissary Cook Book by Steve Poses, Anne Clark and Becky Roller
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Here are some recipes for stir-frying sauces that I make in advance of starting the frying. I add them at the end of cooking and just stir them long enough to coat the ingredients. STIR FRY SAUCES Each recipe makes 2 servings but can be doubled. BASIC STIR FRY SAUCE 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil 1/2 tsp. minced garlic 1/2 tsp. minced ginger 1/2 cup chicken broth 1 Tbs. soy sauce 1 Tbs. brown sugar 1/8 tsp. Tabasco 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 1/2 tsp. lemon or lime juice 1 1/2 tsp.cornstarch 1 Tbs. rice wine or sherry Heat the sesame oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry 15-30 second over medium heat to bring out the flavor. Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bring just to a boil, stirring. Dissolve the cornstarch in the wine and whisk into the sauce. Heat until sauce thickens and reaches a full boil. Simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside. GARLIC SESAME STIR FRY SAUCE 1/2 tsp. pepper 2 Tbs. soy sauce 3 Tbs. chicken broth 1 Tbs. sugar 2 1/4 tsp. lemon juice 1/3 cup sesame oil 2 1/4 tsp. minced garlic 1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 1/2 tsp. water Combine the pepper, soy sauce, chicken broth, sugar and lemon juice. In a small saucepan heat the sesame oil. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute until soft but not browned. Add the soy sauce mixture and bring just to a boil. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let boil 20 seconds. Remove from the heat. SZECHUAN STIR FRY SAUCE 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil 1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger 1/2 tsp. minced garlic 1/2 cup chicken broth 2 whole anise stars 1 1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar 1 Tbs. soy sauce 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. hoisin sauce 1/8 tsp. Tabasco sauce 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp. pepper 1/8 tsp. 5 spice powder 2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbs. water Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and saute 1 minute until softened but not browned. In a bowl combine the remaining except for the cornstarch mixture. Add them to the saucepan and bring to a simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove star anise. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let boil 1-2 minutes. Taste and add more Tabasco if desired. Adapted from The Frog/Commissary Cook Book by Steve Poses, Anne Clark and Becky Rolle
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It's hard to make generalities about over 1 billion people, lol. But I have found that there are many, many Chinese families who don't stir-fry at all, or do it very seldom. Not every American family eats burgers and hot dogs, either, for a local analogy. I guess if others judged American culture by TV ads and billboards, they would think we all lived on a daily diet of McDonald's Big Macs! But in general, many Asian cuisines do have a "triple path". There is home cooking; there is restaurant cooking; and there is banquet, or feast, food. I was talking to my Hong Kong-born Chinese-Portugese DH a few weeks ago, and he (finally) remembered to tell me a story about one of his uncles who died over 15 yrs ago. This uncle was famous in the family for making the Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, or ho yau gai lan as it used to be spelled (I'm terrible with the new spellings, sorry). I've done this dish, and it seems very simple. Blanch the gai lan, stir-fry it quickly, drizzle it with oyster sauce. What's so hard about it? DH told me his uncle was so meticulous and painstaking about doing this dish, it was intimidating even to just watch him. Every cut had to be a precise size, the water had to be just the right temperature, the timing was down to the second. The wok had to be heated for XX number of minutes with just enough oil but not too much; the tossing and last-minute steaming done always the same way. In six decades of eating, DH says his uncle's gai lan remains the best. And every time, because he was so exacting about it, it was always perfect. But it was a lot of work, done to ensure that nothing was left to chance. He very seldom made it, in fact. Just the news that there was going to be a party and that Uncle had promised to make his gai lan, was enough to make everybody, even reluctant-to-socialize teenagers, show up for dinner! Oh, and outside of the gai lan, hardly anyone in DH's family, all 200+ members in Vancouver BC, stir-fries. Most of them don't even own a wok, which is interesting because otherwise they've kept their HK culture intact very assiduously. Unlike the American relatives, all of whom by the second generation barely remember their Cantonese, all the Canadian relatives speak Cantonese at home, so that even the fourth generation little kids are bi-lingual.
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User
18 years ago
I vary it, but carrots, green beans, and cabbage are hit. We sometimes use different colors of bell peppers and yellow and zucchini squash and onions and garlic. All goes well with soy or teriaki sauce.
susan_on
18 years ago
Mmmm...stir fry. I like to always start with onion, then add red bell pepper, then carrots, broccoli and maybe mushrooms.
Happy_Go_Lucky_Gayle
18 years ago
OK....So...now I have to do Stir Fry...

I like Pork Stir Fry best with Broccoli, Cabbage, Sugar Snaps, Carrots, Bell Pepper, Onion,Celery, Water Chess nuts. I add a touch of Brown Sugar to Soy Sauce. I like my veggies crunchy.

Gayle
nicole_ont
18 years ago
My favourite combination - broccoli, garlic, red onion, bean sprouts, zucchini, and a ton of mushrooms. Sometimes with chunks of fried tofu. Some sort of spicy stir-fry sauce added at the end, and served over whole wheat spiral pasta.
angelaid
Original Author
18 years ago
This is what I'm making tonight, but with fresh vegies:

Chicken Stir Fry Teriyaki

Ingredients:

1 pound cubed cooked white chicken
1 pound your favorite frozen stir-fry vegetable (thawed)
4 cloves garlic fine chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch till smooth
1 package ramen noodles, do not break them

Directions:

Cook ramen (entire brick of unbroken noodles) in boiling water for 2 minutes, remove; drain.

Mix teriyaki sauce with cornstarch. In a skillet over high heat saute garlic in oil; cook 1-2 minutes or until aromatic. Add vegetables and chicken; stir 2 minutes. Add noodles and stir 3 minutes; add sauce, stir until sauce is hot and begins to thicken. Serve alone or over rice.

I added red and yellow peppers, zuchinni, carrots, mushrooms and cabbage to the shopping list. That's gonna be one colorful, yummy, dish!

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