A blend of colorful vegetables, a handful of ingredients and sauces, this stir-fry comes together in 15 minutes.
Perfect as an appetizer or to serve with steamed rice or noodles.
Asian dishes are always loved in our household. Whether it is rice based or noodles, they make an appearance at least once on the menu each week.
Along with the mains there are also appetizers, soups and sometimes even desserts that are inspired from Asian dishes.
The love has been for years when I was a kid to now my toddler who LOVES Bao and Dumplings along with noodles. My mom made some the finest Asian dishes back then and I try to replicate so many of them with little success.
The dishes she made were no way authentic and never had ingredients like MSG, sichuan peppers, five spice seasoning, stir fry sauce etc.
Our Indian pantry had the basic vinegar, soy sauce and chili sauce. Those combined with some other spices like salt, sugar and black pepper went into the dishes.
Yet, the food was always delicious. It was not like the restaurants but it was always comforting. This stir fry recipe is from that collection of Asian inspired dishes. It does not have any special ingredients. It has a mix of household spices, sauces and whatever vegetables you have in the refrigerator.
Honestly, this stir fry was my mom's way to make sure we eat enough veggies for the week in one meal! And now it comes handy with my toddler.
What is Vegetable Stir-Fry?
A quick appetizer or main dish made with a truckload of vegetables, some sauces and minimal spices; this stir-fry is super delicious.
What was earlier a household recipe has now made an appearance of restaurant menus in India for folks seeking a warm salad that is not full of carb or added creamy dressings.
This stir-fry can be served as a salad, it makes a great appetizer and a side for steamed rice or noodles.
Have leftover stir fry? Use it the next day to make some hot and sour soup. Add water or stock to the veggies and boil it. Then add some additional corn starch slurry and thicken the soup. Serve! It is THAT simple.
This vegetable stir-fry recipe
- is super quick and easy to make.
- has to be my favorite way to clean the fridge at the end of the week!
- is a great way to eat a truck load of veggies in one meal.
- makes a perfect dish for meal prep.
The dish is a great side and can also be enjoyed as a complete meal. It is a great appetizer too.
Make the vegetable stir-fry a little extra saucy and you have a great dish to serve with noodles and rice.
An easy to customize recipe, this one can be made with just vegetables or with added protein. Tofu and panner would be great vegetarian proteins to add to the vegetables. It is also great with some roasted pecans and almond slivers.
So the recipe is super customizable and is a favorite for that reason!
Looking for more Asian recipes? Try these:
Video Recipe
Ingredients/ What you need to make
Vegetables: The recipe is made with a lot of vegetables. That is the base of the recipe.
I have used fresh cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, cabbage, peppers and scallions.
The baby corn and chestnuts are canned. If you can find them fresh, they can be used too.
Adding other vegetables like asparagus, snap peas, jalapeños and red cabbage is a great option too. Skip the ones you do not have or dislike.
Garlic: Garlic is added to the vegetables for flavor. It is great to have in the recipe but if you do not like it, skip it. Though the recipe will not taste the same, it will still be good.
Adding some ginger in the recipe is a great idea too.
Sauces: Soy sauce and vinegar are used in the recipe. Dark soy sauce is great for the glaze and taste. A mix of light and dark can be used too. Vinegar is used for flavor. White or Mirin vinegar can be used here.
If you like the stir fry spicy, add some hot sauce. It is not a required ingredient.
Corn Starch: A slurry of corn starch and water is used in the recipe. It helps make the stir-fry slightly saucy and of a great texture.
While corn starch works the best, the recipe can be made with corn flour, rice flour or even tapioca starch mixed with water.
Apart from these ingredients we also use salt and sesame oil. The amount of salt will depend on how salty the soy sauce is. The oil can be replaced by any vegetable oil but sesame works the BEST for Asian recipes.
Step by Step Instructions to make
1- Mix corn starch, soy sauce, vinegar, salt and water in a bowl. Make sure there are no lumps and set aside.
2- In a bowl boil 3-4 cups of water. Once it boils add green beans, broccoli and cauliflower and baby corn. Boil for 2-3 minutes.
3- Turn down the heat and transfer the vegetables to a fine mesh sieve. Set aside.
4- In a thick bottom pan or wok heat oil till it is smoking.
5- Add garlic and let it turn light brown.
6- Then add the peppers and sauté for a minute.
7- Add carrots, mushrooms and scallions followed by cabbage.
8- Add in the blanched vegetables and chestnuts and mix well.
9- Transfer the cornstarch slurry to the pan and mix well till it coats the vegetables.
10- Turn off the flame and serve topped with scallions.
Tips and Notes
- Cut the vegetables in fun shapes to make this stir-fry.
- Adding proteins or other vegetables and nuts is an option too.
- Corn starch can be replaced with corn flour, rice flour or tapioca starch.
- The prepared vegetable stir-fry keeps well for 3-4 days in the refrigerator making it a great meal prep recipe.
Easy Vegetable Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- Mixed Vegetables 3 cups carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, cauliflower, cabbage, green beans, peppers and scallions
- Baby Corn ½ cup fresh or canned
- Chestnuts ½ cup canned
- Garlic 3-4 cloves minced
- Dark Soy Sauce 1 ½ tsp
- Vinegar ½ tsp
- Salt ½ tsp
- Ground Pepper ½ tsp
- Corn Starch 2 tbsp
- Water ½ cup
Instructions
- Mix corn starch, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper powder and water in a bowl. Make sure there are no lumps and set aside.
- In a bowl boil 3-4 cups of water. Once it boils add green beans, broccoli and cauliflower and baby corn. Boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Turn down the heat and transfer the vegetables to a fine mesh sieve. Set aside.
- In a thick bottom pan or wok heat oil till it is smoking.
- Add garlic and let it turn light brown.
- Then add the peppers and sauté for a minute.
- Add carrots, mushrooms and scallions followed by cabbage.
- Add in the blanched vegetables and chestnuts and mix well.
- Transfer the cornstarch mixture to the pan and mix well till it coats the vegetables.
- Turn off the flame and serve topped with scallions.
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