One dish which fascinated my whims the very first time we dined at a Chinese Restaurant in Malaysia was the Chinese Vegetable Stir Fry. The moment I tasted it I knew it was a bit under cooked for our preference then, later, realizing and strictly following the way it is cooked with almost all the vegetables I cook at home. Literally speaking, this Vegetable Stir Fry gave me a total new revelation to cooking vegetables, the way it has to be, retaining the colour, texture and nutrition. From then on, I have never looked back, I still cook most of the vegetable even while making Indian style stir fries like Poriyals/Thorans, Sabzis etc., a bit under cooked.
Chinese Style Vegetable Stir Fry is a quick & easy Chinese dish. This style of cooking vegetables adds a whole new dimension to the all plain vegetables. But the secret behind perfect Chinese Style Stir Fry is the techniques you need to follow to get it right. Keep in mind that the vegetables in the stir-fry should retain the colour, crunchiness and freshness of the vegetables. When perfectly done, this Chinese Style Vegetable Stir Fry is going to be lustrous, gorgeously beautiful, presenting itself with a cornucopia of colours with a remarkable texture. I love this stir-fry whatsoever.
Just follow these simple tips and techniques for perfectly cooked Vegetable Stir-fry.
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| CHINESE VEGETABLE STIR FRY |
VEGETABLES:
As we need to stir-fry the vegetable in one quick movement in a high heat, it is always advisable to keep all the needed items ready side by side. First clean, peel & cut the vegetables and when it comes to the Vegetables which you can add into this stir-fry, I mostly use Carrots, Mushrooms, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Capsicums & Snow peas. Can add Baby Corn too. If using mushrooms, use varieties like Button Mushrooms, Crimino Mushrooms, Shitake or Oyster Mushrooms. Small Beech or Bunapi Mushrooms also suits well for Vegetable stir fries.
BLANCHING THE VEGETABLES:
Then I blanch the vegetables before stir-frying them. Blanching shortens the time required for stir-frying. And also the vegetables are cooked half way, retaining the shape & colour. Then, while stir-frying, the idea is just to mix them up with the sautéed garlic and the sauces on a high heat. This way the Stir Fry turns out to be perfectly cooked through, retaining the texture, colour, and all the more the nutrition. Once the Vegetables are blanched, you can straight away go with the stir-frying process.
Then mince the Garlic, Cut the Onions into big pieces and then thinly slice the bird's eye chillies. Well, I do add a Bird's eye chilli into this Stir Fry. After all, the taste buds of Indian ethnicity asks for a bit of heat in everything. You can totally skip it in this recipe.
SAUCE:
The next step is to get the sauce ready. The idea of a sauce in a stir-fry is to add taste and flavour into the bland vegetables. So you can get easy with the type of sauce you use. Commonly Oyster Sauce is used along with seasoning like salt, sugar and a dash of white pepper powder. I love to add the popular locally available ABC Sauce, which is a sweet thick soy sauce with caramelized palm sugar in it. Alternatively, can add Dark Soy Sauce. I have added the Corn Flour slurry into the sauce mix. So, you do not need to add ‘cornflour slurry’ during stir-frying. Corn flour slurry glazes & gives a sheen to the stir-fried vegetables. You can prepare this sauce and refrigerate it for a few days. The same sauce can be used while stir-frying Chinese greens like bok choy, choy sum, kai lan, napa cabbages etc.,
STIR-FRYING:
Then, the stir frying - keep in mind, you need to stir-fry in a high heat, in quick movements. Sauté, the garlic, Onions, bird's-eye chillies, briefly sauté the Capsicums & then pour in the sauce and cook for a few minutes, then add in all the vegetables and mix it well in quick movements over a high flame. Once the sauces all coated and the vegetables are glazed, switch off the flame and serve immediately.
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Cuisine - Chinese; Southeast Asian
Recipe Type - Stir Fry
Spice Level - Low
Difficulty - Easy
Serves - 2- 3
Author - SM
Preparation Time - 15 - 20 Minutes
Cooking Time - 5-10 Minutes
HOW TO MAKE CHINESE VEGETABLE STIR FRY
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| CHINESE VEGETABLE STIR FRY |
INGREDIENTS:
Vegetables:
Carrots - 1/2 CupBroccoli - 1/2 Cup
Cauliflower - 1/2 Cup
Snow Peas - 1/2 Cup
Mushroom - 1/2 Cup
For Blanching:
Water - 4-5 CupsSalt - To Taste
Sugar - a Pinch
For the Sauce:
Oyster Sauce/ABC Sauce - 2 TablespoonsSalt - to Taste
Sugar - 11/2 Teaspoons
White Pepper Powder - 1/8 Teaspoon
Corn Flour - 1/2 Teaspoon
Cold(Ice) Water - 4 Tablespoons
Sautéing:
Garlic - 6-8 ClovesOnion - 1 Big
Bird's eye Chillies - 1-2 Numbers
Capsicum (Green) - 1/4 Cup
Capsicum (Yellow/Red) - 1/4 Cup
For Vegetable Stir-fry:
Oil - 2 TablespoonsSalt - To Taste
Sugar - a Pinch
METHOD:
Preparing the Vegetables:
- Carrots - Peel, wash and cut Carrots into Wedges or thick slices.
- Snow peas - Wash & then remove the ‘string’ of the snow peas on both the sides and snap it off into two or three pieces. No need to cut it, just snap it off using your hands.
- Broccoli - Wash & then cut the florets into medium or large sized ones. Discard the lower part of the stem, which is hard & fibrous. Use the tender part of the stem, cut them into slices or wedges. The tender stem is full of flavour, so do not throw them away.
- Cauliflower- Wash & then cut the cauliflower into florets, preferably into medium or large florets.
- Mushroom - Cut off the ends, wash them and then cut the Mushroom into slices.
- Capsicum - Wash & then snip off the tip and then remove the core and seeds. Cut the capsicum into large slices.
- Onions - Peel, wash and cut Onions into fours and then cut them into small cubes. We need some square shaped Onions in this Vegetable stir-fry.
- Garlic - Peel, wash and mince the garlic cloves and keep them aside.
- Bird's eye Chillies - Remove the stalk and then cut it into thin slices. Alternatively, you can mince it.
Blanching the Vegetables:
- Boil enough water in a large pot, let the amount of water be good enough to cover the vegetables.
- Add a dash of Salt and a pinch of Sugar into it.
- Let it boil.
- First add the Carrot Wedges into the water and cook them for about 2-3 minutes.
- Once the Carrots are cooked halfway through, add Cauliflower & Broccoli florets and blanch them for about 2 minutes.
- Then follow it with snow peas, mushrooms and blanch it for about a minute.
- I usually do not blanch Capsicums.
- Once done, drain it through a colander and keep it aside.
For the Sauce:
- Mix all the ingredients mentioned under "For the Sauce" in cold water & keep it aside.
- Make sure there are no lumps in the sauce.
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| CHINESE VEGETABLE STIR FRY |
Sautéing & Stir frying the Vegetables:
- Heat oil in a Wok/Pan over high heat.
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Add minced Garlic and Bird's-eye Chillies, stir-fry for about 10 seconds until fragrant(should not be browned).
- Then add Onion chunks & Capsicums and sauté it for a while.
- Now add, the blanched Vegetables and give a quick stir.
- Immediately pour in the Sauce and mix well.
- Let it cook for about 2 minutes or until it thickens
- Stir-fry until well combined on a high flame, & the vegetables are glazed.
- Immediately, serve Chinese Vegetable Stir Fry hot.
- Chinese Vegetable Stir Fry goes well with Fragrant Rice or any Rice/Noodles recipe.
NOTES:
- Use your preferred combination of vegetables in this stir-fry.
- Do not cover the pan while cooking.
- Once the sauce thickens, stir-fry the vegetables on high heat for a short time. This will retain its nutrients & texture.
- Do not brown the garlic, as they would tend to give a bitter taste to the dish.
- Adding Bird's eye Chilli is purely optional.
- Cook the vegetables to suit your preference. I like to keep it crunchy & tender, and mainly love to retain the colours in the vegetables.
