"Takeout" Veggie Stir-fry
I don’t know about you but I really dig a good Chinese takeout. I love the crispy, crunchy veggies and the tangy sauces and the fluffy rice… mmm… I don’t, however love the big “?” on how they’re making it and what the ingredients are that they’re using.
Alas, my solution to everything is to just do it myself if i’m not 100% about the restaurant version. Let me just preface this recipe by saying that that you can add ANY protein you like to this dish. No joke, you can do shrimp, chicken, pork, beef, tofu, etc, etc. Whatever you like. The sauce is just so versatile and delicious that you really could just drizzle it on a shoe and feel good about eating that flipflop from two summers ago. I’m THAT confident with my sauce recipe, and when someone is THAT confident, you should probably just trust them and try it. Also, don’t freak out if you dont have, or dont like, a particular veggie that i’ve used in this stirfry. The real key to this stirfry is NOT which veggies or proteins (or lack-thereof) that you use, it’s the technique you cook them and the sauce you use. Both of these things are clearly outlined in this recipe and if you follow it, whomever is eating this meal with you will love you a lot, a lot, a lot. Trust.
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Total time: 20 minutes cook time
Yield: 2-3 servings
Ingredients
1. 1 cup jasmine rice
2. 4 tsp olive oil
3. 2 1/2 cups broccoli florets
4. 1 cup chopped celery
5. 2 cups sliced mushrooms
6. 8 oz can of sliced water chestnuts
7. 1/2 cup sliced bamboo shoots
8. 1/2 cup roasted cashew nuts
9. 1 chopped green onion
For the Sauce:
1. 1/2 cup soy sauce
2. 1 1/2 tbsp black vinegar (i get mine from the asian grocery store)
3. 2 tbsp ketchup
4. 3 tbsp maple syrup
5. 1 tsp ground white pepper
Method
1. Bring 1 3/4 cups of water to a boil in a kettle. Once your water is boiled, put 2 tsp of olive oil in a pot and add your jasmine rice. Saute your rice in your oil on low heat for 1 minute and pour your boiled water on top. Cover the pot and keep the temperature at low. Move on to step 2 now! Allow the rice to absorb all of the water. Once the water has been absorbed in the rice cook for another 2 minutes and turn the heat off. Keep the lid on the pot (do not open the lid) and allow the steam to finish cooking the rice.
2. While your rice is cooking, prepare your sauce by adding all of your sauce ingredients to a small saucepan, whisk well and allow the liquid to come to a simmer. This step should take 5 minutes. Turn the heat off once you see bubbles forming on the top. The liquid should form a thin film on the back of a spoon, once it’s done.
3. To prepare your veggies, add the remaining 2 tsp of olive oil to a large skillet or wok and allow to heat well, add all of your veggies except for the cashews and the green onion, all at once. You will need to keep the temperature on high for this step. Saute your veggies on high for 2 minutes (i mean it, only 2 minutes). You will see the color of the veggies begin to change but they will stay crisp and crunchy. After 2 minutes, add your cashews and pour in your sauce to the veggies. Saute on high heat for 1 more minute (yes, again, i mean it, only 1 minute). Turn the heat off, sprinkle your green onions on top and serve with your rice!
*If you would like to add a protein to this dish, saute your sliced protein in a separate pan until it’s 95% complete cooking, add it to the pan with the veggies right before you put your sauce it, pour your sauce on top and serve!
