Vegetable Stir Fry
Everything gets tossed in a hot pan with garlic and soy — crispy veg, no fuss.
Main Dish · Prep 15 min · Cook 8 min · Serves 4 · Easy · By Tina · Published
Ingredients
- 2 medium bell peppers, mixed colors, sliced
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 2 medium carrots, julienned
- 1 cup snow peas
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup baby corn
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds, for garnish
My Go-To Weeknight Lifesaver
Vegetable stir fry is the recipe I make more than any other. It's fast, endlessly flexible, and genuinely delicious when you get the technique right. The secret most people miss? Blazing hot pan, dry vegetables, and never overcrowding.
Prep Everything First
This is a stir fry commandment: have every single ingredient cut, measured, and ready before you turn on the heat. Slice bell peppers, broccoli florets, snap peas, carrots (cut on the diagonal for maximum surface area), and mushrooms. Make your sauce by whisking together soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, a touch of honey, and cornstarch.
The Wok Technique
Get your wok or largest pan screaming hot over high heat. Add a high smoke-point oil like avocado or peanut oil. Cook the hardest vegetables first -- carrots and broccoli -- for about 2 minutes. Then add the softer ones -- peppers, snap peas, mushrooms. Keep everything moving. You want charred edges and crisp-tender centres.
The Sauce Moment
Push the vegetables to the sides, add minced garlic and fresh ginger to the centre for 30 seconds, then pour in the sauce. Toss everything together and cook for one more minute until the sauce thickens and coats every piece.
Serve Immediately
Stir fry waits for no one. Serve it the moment it's done over steamed jasmine rice or noodles. Garnish with sesame seeds, sliced spring onions, and a drizzle of chilli oil if you like heat.
Tina's Tips
- Get your pan screaming hot before anything goes in -- this is the number one secret to great stir fry
- Cut vegetables to similar sizes so they cook at the same rate
- Never overcrowd the pan -- cook in batches if needed; steamed vegetables are not stir fry
- Prep everything before you start cooking -- once you begin, it moves incredibly fast
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