When it comes to the whole food plant based diet, you want fast and easy recipes that you can knock up in super speed when time is short and your days are busy.
That’s what we’re all about at ZestForever, knocking up easy-to-do versions of your favourite foods with health in mind. This super quick, FAT FREE vegetable stir-fry recipe cooks in minutes and is the perfect side dish to any meal, or just a light, low calorie and healthful meal in itself.
How To Make Stir-Frys
The beauty of a Chinese stir-fry recipe is generally its ease and time saving qualities. Stir-frys are also highly versatile and you can usually throw in any ingredients you like providing you spice it right and cook in the right way.
As a general rule, an oil free vegetable stir-fry dish needs to be cooked fast and on the highest heat setting of your hob. This is to ensure that your vegetables are heated through, softened down, yet still al dente to the bite.
You really do need to take care not to over-cook your stir-fry because you don’t want those vegetables too mushy, and it’s traditional for them to have a little crunch. This means quick frying times and high heat to get that texture you want in your final resulting dish.
What To Cook A Stir-Fry In
The cooking medium used in your fat free vegetable stir-fry recipe is CRUCIAL to your success.
Firstly, it is good to have a high quality wok for best results. This is the way traditional stir-fry has been cooked for centuries, and for good reason.
Here’s a list of compelling reasons why a good quality wok is worth your investment:-
- HIGH HEAT – Your wok is the perfect shape to absorb maximum heat, fast (and getting the highest heat possible is the most effective way to cook your stir-fry dish).
- LESS OILS – You use, and indeed need, less oils when cooking in a wok, therefore it’s the perfect way to make healthier dishes. If you’re on a health kick or weight loss program, a good quality wok is going to be your friend almost daily.
- RETAIN NUTRIENTS – The high heat and fast cooking times a good wok offers mean that more of the nutrients are retained in your food, thus adding more nutrition to your final result.
- QUICK AND EASY MEALS – You wok offers you a way to create super fast and easy meals due to how fast it heats and how hot it gets.
- ONE POT MEALS – No need for endless pots and pans when you use this traditional method of cooking. You can quite literally chuck all your ingredients in your wok and they will cook in under 10 minutes, so long as they are chopped small that is.
- LESS ENERGY – The wok is a great way to save on your energy bills. Why waste your electric or gas by having your oven, stove-top, or slow cooker on for hours when you can cook one pot meals in minutes in your wok?
How To Make An OIL FREE Stir-Fry
The art of the completely oil free stir fry is in the use of stock or hot water to prevent sticking. Conversely, at first you will want to deliberately get your veggies to stick a little and brown up to create ‘caramelisation’. This will then add heaps of flavour to your dish, which is more important than ever when not using oils to fry.
As your veggies caramelise, you will want to then keep adding small splashes of hot water or stock to prevent sticking. Doing this also adds more to the caramelisation process that you are wanting to achieve in order to obtain maximum flavour.
Best Vegetables To Use For Stir-Frys
You will also find that there are some vegetables that work better in a stir-fry dish than others.
These are usually the faster cook varieties (or the kind that taste good still when al dente to the bite) such as:-
- Bell peppers
- Red and white onions
- Sugar snap peas
- Mange tout
- Cabbages
- Bean sprouts
- Carrots
- Mushrooms
- Bok choy
- Chinese leaf
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Courgettes
What To Serve With Stir-Fried Vegetables
The great thing about this simple dish is its versatility. You can literally eat the whole lot yourself as a light lunch (especially if you don’t add rice). It is, after all, just veggies and not even ‘carby’ ones, so feel free to eat your fill, guilt free.
However, you can also serve these delicious veggies in other ways, such as with:-
- Rice
- Quinoa
- Pasta
- Topped with air-fried tofu
- As a side dish to another main dish
Super Quick, FAT FREE Vegetable Stir-Fry In Minutes
Equipment
- Wok or non-stick frying pan
- Chopping board
- Chopping knife
Ingredients
- Half head broccoli cut into bite-size florets
- 10 Brussel sprouts cut in half lengthways
- 1 red bell pepper cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 red onion cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 white onion cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 large courgette (zucchini) cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 green jalapeno optional
- 2 Tbsp tamari/soy sauce
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice seasonings
- Hot water for sauteing
- Sesame seeds to sprinkle on serving
Instructions
- Chop all veggies into large, bite-size chunks of roughly 1 inch.
- Use a large, non-stick frying pan or a wok and heat on high with a splash of hot water and your tamari sauce.
- Once hot, add all your veggies except the courgettes and cook for around 7 minutes, stirring very frequently. You may need to keep adding splashes of hot water as you go along to prevent too much sticking.
- Next add your chopped courgettes and all spices. Stir-fry everything for a further 5 minutes. Try and leave a little jus at the bottom of your pan, especially if you're serving with rice. You don't want your dish too dry!
- Serve with a sprinkle of sesame seeds for an authentic tasting Chinese style dish.This dish serves one as a light meal in itself without other sides, or 2-3 with rice or quinoa.
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