This Ginger Veggie Stir Fry is bursting with lots of fresh vegetables and coated with a spicy sauce flavored with garlic and ginger. Plus, it comes together in under 30 minutes!
Do you watch the Pioneer Woman? Are you a fan? Apparently, she’s one of the first food bloggers to ever exist, and I have to give her props for that. Now it seems like the world of food blogging is huge – It’s a big market, and there are lots and LOTS uof us bloggers out there! Be it vegan, gluten-free, or wine promoting (like myself), there’s lots of little niches out there. Ree Drummond’s niche is the “farm life” – She lives on a farm, with a farmer husband, and a bushel full of cute kids. And really, she cooks anything. I’ve caught a few episodes of her TV show here and there on the weekends and I’ve seen anything from tacos to pasta. She’s a bit like me – I’ll cook anything.
I grew up with Italian roots – My nana and nanu lived right next door and pretty much had pasta with sauce going on the stove every day of the week. That’s definitely where my obsession with pasta came from. And, ever since I’ve moved away from home, and sadly both my grandparents have passed, I’ve been working on mastering their pasta sauce. We ate a LOT of pasta. But, everyone needs a change now and then. So, sometimes we’d head out to the Chinese buffet and graze on all the dishes that we weren’t accustomed to at home – Beef with broccoli, crispy chicken, chow mein.
I think that most people have a certain fondness for Chinese food. Although what we eat here in the states is certainly an “Americanized” version, it’s tasty just the same. In fact, this ginger veggie stir fry that I’m cooking up was influenced by Ree Drummond herself, a self-declared farm girl.
Veggie stir frys often happen in our house on Mondays – When there are leftover vegetables in the crisper drawer that need to be used up, and of course, a veggie stir fry is perfect for #MeatlessMonday. I’ll tend to throw in whatever we have on hand – Peppers, zucchini, broccoli bits and pieces, mushrooms. So, feel free to customize this veggie stir fry using whatever vegetables you have in your fridge at the moment, and whichever are your favorite. Ree uses baby corn in her version, I swapped that for some water chestnuts because I love their crispy texture. I also changed her stir fry sauce recipe up just a bit – Adding in extra garlic, cutting down on the oil a bit, and swapping brandy for the sherry (or you could swap in some white wine).
What are the best vegetables to stir fry?
You can swap out any of the vegetables in this veggie stir fry recipe for the ones that you like best. In total, I used about 8 cups worth of vegetables for this recipe.
- Sweet Peppers
- Zucchini
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Onions (yellow, white or red)
- Pea pods
- Cabbage
- Asparagus
- Mushrooms
- Spinach
- Kale
How do you make veggie stir fry sauce?
To make this veggie stir fry sauce, I used low-sodium soy sauce, brandy, brown sugar, cornstarch, sriracha (for added heat) and grated ginger.
Be sure to use low-sodium soy sauce as we’re using a lot of it in this recipe (1/2 cup). The regular variety will result in a stir fry that’s much too salty. If you only have regular soy sauce on hand, use 1/4 cup of it and use 1/4 cup of water.
If you don’t like ginger, or if you don’t have any on hand, you can definitely leave it out.
If you like your stir fry spicy, use 2 tablespoons of sriracha. If you don’t like heat, you can leave it out entirely or cut back to 1 tablespoon of sriracha. If you don’t have any sriracha on hand, you can add in some crushed red pepper flakes.
However you choose to customize your veggie stir fry, I think that you’ll love the end result.
The vegetables end up still just a bit crisp, the sauce thickens nicely (thanks to the cornstarch), and the whole pan just glistens at the end, ready to be dressed up with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Serve it up over a bed of rice, or yakisoba noodles, or just eat this veggie stir fry right outta the pan. Particularly tempting on busy weeknights, or when you’re the only one at home…
Ginger Veggie Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brandy
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1-2 tablespoons sriracha depending on how spicy you like it
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion cut into large chunks
- 1 red bell pepper cut into large chunks
- 1 yellow bell pepper cut into large chunks
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 zucchini cut into large wedges
- 1 Chinese eggplant cut into 1/2" slices
- 1 5 oz. can water chestnuts drained
- 1 head broccoli cut into florets
- Yakisoba noodles or rice for serving
- Sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
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Add soy sauce, brandy, brown sugar, cornstarch, sriracha, and ginger to a small mason jar or tupperware. Seal and shake well to combine. Set aside.
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Heat the oil in a large wok or skillet over high heat. Add the onion and peppers, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Add the zucchini and Chinese eggplant, and cook for 2-3 minutes longer. Add the water chestnuts and broccoli and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes longer. The veggies should still be fairly firm.
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Add in the sauce, stir, and allow to heat through for 1-2 minutes, until the veggies are coated and the sauce thickened. If the sauce gets too thick, add in an additional splash of water.
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Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over noodles or rice, if desired.
If you loved this veggie stir fry I would appreciate it so much if you would give this recipe a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.
Wine Pairings for Vegetable Stir Fry:
- A Dry Riesling or Gewürztraminer will pair nicely with the spiciness of this dish. These are my go-to wines with spicy, asian dishes.
- Sauvignon Blanc is another great option – It’s grassy, herbal notes compliment all the fresh veggies in this stir fry.
Looking for more quick and easy, healthy dinner recipes? Be sure to try these too:
30-Minute Zucchini Pizza Boats
Quinoa Taco Bowls with Guacamole
Nice! We made a ton of stir-frys when I was a kid and I like to make them now for a super easy dinner with tons of veggies. Now I love to add shrimp or other meat I have on hand for a balanced meal! I’ve never made the sauce separately like that before, though, I bet that would make it better!
You had me a Ginger, Erin. We are all about ginger and garlic at our house: if it’s vegetarian, even better! This sounds delicious!!
Thanks Renee!
It must be a typo when you said cook the garlic an additional 30 minutes. Don’t you mean three minutes?
You are correct Marj! Thank you for catching that – Yes, it should only be 30 seconds. The recipe has been revised to make that correction. 🙂
Do you have to add the sherry or brandy? I’m a recovering alcoholic and want to make sure it will still taste as good.
You can definitely leave it out Brittany!
I found this way too salty. What would be the best way to dilute the soy sauce in the sauce. Otherwise, the flavor was good and the process simple.
Hi Beth – You could halve the amount of soy sauce in the recipe, and add in a tablespoon or so of water… Were you using low-sodium soy sauce?
I loved this and so did my family. I did change the amount of soy sauce to 1/4 and topped it off with pineapple juice, that cut the saltiness. Great recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that Charlie!
We love a good stir-fry in our house! Such a great way to use up veggies before they go bad.
Totally agree Marlynn!
We make stir-fry at our house often, and ginger is almost always part of the mix. It always seems to bring out the best of all those lovely veggie flavors.
I agree Renee – Cheers!
So gorgeous! We’re also huge fans of stir frys around here. It’s amazing what a little sauce and seasonings can do to vegetables. My kids turn their nose at most veggies, BUT in a stir fry like this (or a Thai influenced recipe) they’ll eat every last bite! Saving this one to try for our next stir fry night. The flavors sound fantastic.
I hope they love it Mary!
This looks absolutely fantastic for a meatless Monday or as a side to some grilled chicken. Yum!
Thanks so much Jenni!
I love a good stir fry that’s loaded with veggies. And if there’s ginger in the mix, even better!
Stir fry is such a good quick and healthy meal with lots of flavor! This looks delicious.
This was so delicious. I did modify the sauce a little, by adding 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, removed the alcohol and used arrowroot powder instead of corn starch. Oh and added cashews and green onion at the end. Also substituted sugar snap peas for the eggplant. Definite keeper!
So happy you liked it Sharice! Thank you for sharing your substitutions.
IS there something I could use instead of the brandy? I don’t drink alcohol.
Hi Hayley – You can simply add water in place of the brandy. Hope that helps!
There are so amazing recipes in here! Thanks so much for including this recipe. I so much eat the vegetarian food at the moment for the same reason as you. The great idea is sharing this article blog.