This colourful Asian Veg Stir Fry recipe is so fresh and healthy. Check out our tips on how to chop veggies (because that’s important in a stir fry) and how to make the best stir fry sauce for the days when you crave simple yet satisfying Asian fare!
When the laze kicks in, there is NOTHING that will motivate me to pick my butt off the couch and get cooking. And then there’s that instant urge to order takeout. You’ve felt this too? Same pinch. HOWEVER. I make an exception once in a while because this veg stir fry recipe is a colourful saviour in disguise! You can make this vegetarian stir fry in less than 20 minutes flat and you’ll never order takeout again. Just kidding 😂 takeout is the best. But this stir fry recipe is a close second!
This veggie stir fry recipe gives you the lowdown on what veggies to use, how to cook the veggies depending on different cook timings, how to put together an Asian stir fry sauce in minutes, and what to serve it with. This is also a vegan stir fry, if that’s up your alley!
How is this Different From Indian Subzi?
While it may seem like the two are basically the same thing with different origins, there’s more to it. Indian subzis usually hero one veggie like cabbage in Cabbage Potato Fry or bhindi (okra) in Bhindi Masala. An Asian stir fry is a medley of different veggies brought together in a wok with a stir fry sauce.
How To Chop Veggies
For this vegetable stir fry, we have used broccoli, carrots, zucchinis, mushrooms, red and yellow bell peppers, bok choy, onions, ginger and garlic. The veggies in the stir fry all have different cook timings, and so we’ve shown you how to chop each veggie in the video below. Overall, it’s important that all the veggies are cut approx the same size so they cook evenly.
Top Tips To Chop Veggies For Veggie Stir Fry:
- Cut the stems of the broccoli so that each of the florets remains in one piece
- Diagonally cut thick slices of carrots – helps to cook them easily and looks good too
- Dice the zucchinis and bell peppers into cubes – these cook real quick
- Halve or quarter the mushrooms depending on the size
- Bok choy stems should be kept separately from leaves as they both have different cooking times. Cut the stems in cubes the same size as the bell peppers and roughly chop or tear the bok choy leaves
The Best Stir Fry Sauce Recipe
For the stir fry sauce, we have used Oyster sauce, white pepper, sugar, salt, sesame oil and cornflour. A good stir fry sauce tastes sweet, tangy and salty, all in one. The oyster sauce gives this sauce sooo much of umami. Stir fries are usually not spicy, and a little bit of white pepper balances out the flavours. Cornflour thickens the sauce up and gives it body. We’ve used water to bring it all together. You could alternatively use Homemade Veggie Stock if you have some lying around!
Use a wok to Stir Fry
We’ve blanched the broccoli florets and carrots beforehand to partially cook them before tossing them into the wok with the other veggies. These two veggies take the longest to cook, so directly adding them to the wok will not cook them all the way through. The stir fry gets those fresh, aromatic Asian flavours from minced ginger and garlic. We’ve also thrown in some onions and celery for extra flavour. You can also sprinkle crushed peanuts for extra crunch.
Here’s a checklist for you to glance at before you start woking away:
- Keep all your ingredients ready before you start cooking, because it all comes together real quick
- The wok should be HOT HOT HOT, otherwise your veggies are as good as being steamed or braised. We want the veggies to be crunchy, so wait till the wok is smoking hot
- The order in which the veggies should be added to the wok is given in the recipe card. Follow it for the best stir fry
- Once the sauce goes in, the stir fry only needs a minute or two till the cornflour cooks and thickens. Any longer and the veggies will start becoming soggy
- Last but not the least – Don’t over-stir fry the stir fry!
Serve this Asian stir fry in a bowl with:
- A bowl of steamed rice
- Egg Fried RIce
- Schezwan Fried Rice
- Asian grilled chicken
More Asian Stir Fry Recipes You’ll Like
- Teriyaki Shrimp Stir Fry
- Sweet Chili Tofu Stir Fry
- Crispy Tofu Broccoli Stir Fry
- Chicken Asparagus Stir Fry
- Crispy Cashew Chicken Noodles Stir Fry
- One Pan Veg Noodle Manchurian Stir Fry
Watch Asian Veg Stir Fry Recipe Video
Asian Veg Stir Fry
Ingredients
For the Stir Fry Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
- ¼ teaspoon White Pepper
- ¼ tsp Sesame Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cornflour
- 1 cup Water
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 3/4 teaspoon Sugar
For the Veg Stir Fry
- 1.5 tablespoon Oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped Garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped Ginger
- 1 tablespoon chopped Celery
- 1/2 cup sliced Onion
- 1 cup Broccoli florets
- 1 cup thickly sliced Carrot
- 1 cup cubed Bell Pepper
- 1 cup cubed Zucchini
- 1 cup Mushrooms halved
- 2 Bok Choy divided into stems and leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped Spring Onions for garnishing
Instructions
- Whisk together all the ingredients mentioned under sauce and set this aside.
- Blanch broccoli and carrot in boiling hot water for two minutes to par cook them. This way they still remain crunchy, but don't taste raw in the stir fry. Drain and set aside.
- In a wok, heat oil and add chopped ginger, garlic and celery. Stir fry for a minute and then add sliced onions. Cook on high heat for another minute and add bell peppers and zucchini. Stir fry for a minute and add mushrooms and bok choy stem. Cook for another minute
- Add par cooked broccoli and carrots and the sauce. Stir fry for 2 minutes till the sauce thickens and becomes slightly translucent. Sprinkle spring onions on top and serve hot.
Gayatri Dudani says
The recipe is super simple & very delicious- just go by the measurements & it turns out really well!!!
Richa says
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Gayatri!
Debalina Dey says
Amazing recipe.
nalini iyer says
Oyster sauce isnt vegetarian/vegan; is there a substitute? thanks, N.
Richa says
You can use Hoisin sauce instead
Heather Andrews says
So simple, sooo good!