Chinese Vegetable Stir-Fry
As much as I know it’s true, I’m always amazed by how quick and easy it is to make excellent Chinese food at home — and homemade is so much healthier than take-out. There is much to love about this stir-fry: meaty shiitake mushrooms, crunchy broccoli, sweet bell peppers, and a gingery, garlicky brown sauce. Go ahead and buy your veggies ready-cut (if possible) to minimize prep time. And, as with any stir-fry, be sure to have all of your ingredients ready before you start cooking. The dish easily serves four as a side but if you’re making it as a main course, count on two or three servings.
Before you get started, chop the scallions, ginger and garlic. You’ll need them at your fingertips once you start cooking.
Next, whisk the soy sauce, water, dry sherry, sesame oil, sugar, cornstarch, red pepper flakes and dry mustard in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large nonstick skillet, bring 1 inch of water to a rapid boil. Add the broccoli and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until tender-crisp. (Blanching the broccoli ensures that it is perfectly cooked and bright green.)
Strain the broccoli in a colander and then run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside and allow to fully drain.
Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in the skillet over high heat. Add the shiitake mushrooms and red peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes, until the mushrooms are browned and the peppers are softened.
Add the garlic, light-colored scallions, and ginger and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Return the broccoli to the pan and cook until warmed through, about 1 minute.
Add the reserved sauce. Toss and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened and the vegetables are evenly coated, about 30 seconds.
Transfer to serving dish and sprinkle with the dark green scallions. Serve with rice, if desired, and enjoy!
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Chinese Vegetable Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup soy sauce (use gluten-free if needed)
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry or Chinese rice wine
- 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound broccoli, cut into 1-inch florets (or 3/4 pound florets)
- 7 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced, white/light green and dark green parts separated
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, water, dry sherry, sesame oil, sugar, cornstarch, red pepper flakes and dry mustard together. Set aside.
- In a large nonstick skillet, bring 1 inch of water to a rapid boil. Add the broccoli and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until tender-crisp. Strain the broccoli in a colander and then run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside and allow to fully drain.
- Wipe the skillet dry. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and heat over high heat. Add the shiitake mushrooms and red peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes, until the mushrooms are browned and the peppers are softened. Add the garlic, white/light green scallions, and ginger; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Return the broccoli to the pan and cook until warmed through, about 1 minute. Add the reserved sauce. Toss and cook until the sauce is thickened and the vegetables are evenly coated, about 30 seconds. Transfer to serving dish and sprinkle with dark green scallions. Serve with rice, if desired.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Serving size: About 1-1/4 cups
- Calories: 173
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Sugar: 7 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Sodium: 1240 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Reviews & Comments
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Hi Jenn,
I would like to try this with chicken, how would you incorporate chicken into this dish
Thanks,
Mary
Hi Mary, I’d sauté the chicken in a bit of oil separately and then add it at the end with the broccoli. That way you can be sure it doesn’t overcook. Hope you enjoy!
This looks fantastic- I am going to add bok choy- would it be best to slice thinly ? When would you suggest adding it in? Thanks
Hi Marsha, I’d slice it thin and add it with the cooked broccoli.
Nice combination of vegetables. However there was too much sauce and the amount and saltiness of the sauce overwhelmed the delicious vegetables. Would have been better with using 1/2 as much soy sauce a bit less cornstarch. Would not make this recipe again without revision.
Made this tonight and my husband said it was the BEST stir fry he had ever had. I made some substitutions in the sauce: no sherry so dry vermouth did the trick, Dijon mustard instead of dry. Then I used whatever veggies I had in the fridge: carrots, green peppers, mushrooms, celery, green onions, snow peas, and threw in a dozen precooked shrimp. Outstanding. Will definitely make this again. Allis
I made this recipe as written and it was delicious. My family enjoyed it and said they would like it again, so that’s a win! We’ve also used the stir fry sauce in this recipe with other stir-fry and it’s our favorite.
It was so yummy!! Been craving a good Chinese dish lately and stumbled across this one! So glad I tried it! Going to be a staple dish of mine👍👍
Jenn, thank you for your delicious recipe!!! I am always looking for a good stir fry recipe because I eat this stuff for breakfast! I added chicken because I eat protein/veggies a lot. This one is for sure a keeper and I will definately be making this again.
THANK YOU for taking care of your children and quitting your career to actually raise your own children. YOU make a difference in THEIR lives! Bless you!
I meal prep on weekends for the week ahead. I would like to use this recipe with a little chicken. Will it hold up for 4 days meals for me? Thank you.
Hi Doreen, I think this will be best on the first day or two, but that you can get away with stretching it to 4.
Fantastic! My favorite stir fry.
Delicious vegetarian recipe. Add tofu!
This stir fry was easy to prepare and get on the table on a busy Thursday evening. The sauce is delicious and the dish is very colorful! I substituted white wine for the sherry and added some thin chopped asparagus spears with the garlic, ginger and green onions step. We served this with some brown rice.
My niece is a vegetarian so I am always on the lookout for these type of dishes. I made your vegetarian stir-fry and she loved it and has asked me to make it for her several times. I saved half the vegetables and added chicken which was delicious as well.
I did use lower soy sauce.
Thank you for sharing this recipe with all of us. 5 Stars!
This was a very basic stir-fry. The amount of cornstarch to the sauce was really off I had to quickly throw in another half a cup of water. It was just too sticky and dry. This did help it but the flavors were very basic and forgettable. A good starting point but needs to branch out flavors.
Maybe give some suggestions then? As to what you could add? Thanks.
I cut back on the cornstarch as Rebecca suggested and my sauce didn’t thicken up well. Next time I’ll go with the recipe. Turned out delicious though!!
Vibrant to look at, incredible to eat. Had 15 girlies for dinner and they ALL loved it. Recipe was easy to follow too. This is the first time I’ve ever given a review – it was THAT good. Thank you xx
This dish was the second recipe that I’ve made from this website. Both are keepers! I made this stir fry for dinner and everyone liked it. I added cooked shrimp at the end which was easy and tasty. And I appreciated the veggies – loved that they browned in the skillet before adding the sauce and the broccoli was perfectly cooked. When I asked for my family’s review, my husband said great, my teenage son gave it a thumbs up (one criticism was too many mushrooms – but he ate them all and the entire dish!) and preteen daughter said it was a keeper although not her favorite meal (she would have preferred chicken as the protein). What would I change? I used regular tamari sauce instead of low sodium, so it was a bit salty. Low sodium next time.
We have stir fry during the winter every Friday night. I prefer to change the dry sherry to Japanese premium sake, Junmai Ginjo brand. Slivered almonds and sesame seeds are added just prior to serving. Kohlrabi is a favorite vegetable to cook with the broccoli.
I love this recipe. I subsitute cremini mushrooms, which are readily available to me, and bump up the red pepper flakes to a teaspoon as I like it spicy. This is a regular now in the dinner rotation.
What would be the best way to incorporate frozen stir fry vegetables into this recipe? Should they be thawed out first?
Hi Pat, just wanted to clarify– are you planning to use only frozen veggies or do you want to use them in addition to the vegetables in the recipe?
Hi Jenn
What substitute could I use instead of the Chinese rice wine?
Hi Hunelda, you could use a dry white wine, or just leave it out.
Hi Jenn I’ve been following all your recipes. They are fantastic! I don’t have cornstarch for the chinese vegetable stirfry recipe. What is a good substitute?
Hi Joyce, So glad you’re enjoying the recipes! If you have arrowroot, you can use that.
I improvised the recipe a little. I had no vegatables, but I had chicken. It was delicious. My hubby approves. My 2 year old daughter ate all the chicken first. The sauce is excellent! Definitely will use this recipe in the future.
Easy so delicious! Best stir-Fri recipe I’ve tried.
Excellent as is, or with addition of Chicken to make it more filling. I carefully seared the breasts, in strips, seperately and mixed it to the stir-fry at the last step.
loved it, easy to make, added chicken as suggested in one review, cooked it first
This wasn’t a hit in my home. Usually the recipes here are a home run so I had to double check to make sure I didn’t forget and ingredient or something. I used Mirin instead of the Chinese rice wine since it was recommended by someone working in the Asian section at Wegmans. The flavor just wasn’t appealing to any of us.
Hi Maryann, I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy it. Unfortunately, I think you got bad advice on the mirin – it’s not the right substitute for Chinese rice wine.
I was glad to see this recipe was vegetarian. So many times I look at a recipe, thinking it is something I would like to make, only to find one of the main ingredients is chicken stock or that it is heavy on some sort of meat. This is a simple, yet delicious, combination of ingredients that are easy to find and combine together to make a delicious and satisfying meal. Excellent!
Made it yesterday, it was delicious!!! Thank you!
Delicious made exactly as written. Liked the idea of blanching the broccoli. Served over Jasmine rice with some leftover grilled chicken. Perfect dinner.
What a delicious vegetable stir fry. And it’s so easy for a weeknight dinner. This will be in my dinner rotation with the addition of chicken or beef at times.
Secret is in the sauce! Have made this twice already (by request :). The sauce is delicious. I did use low sodium soy sauce (what I usually use) and it tasted great (but saltiness really depends on what you are used to). Can probably mix in almost any combination of vegetables (and tofu/shrimp etc.). I used white button mushrooms instead of shiitake and added snow peas. Blanching the broccoli is worth it and prevents it from being soggy. Fast once you get into the cooking – have everything cut and measured beforehand. Had it once with brown rice and then on its own. Thank you for another great tasting and easy to make recipe!
This was really good and easy, great for a weeknight meal! Thanks for sharing.
Made this last night with brown rice for my teenage daughter who is a vegetarian and we both loved it! She suggested we try it next time with tofu. What do you think, Jenn?
Glad you enjoyed it! I think tofu would be a great addition here and a nice way to make it a meal.
Hey Jenn,
How is Asian sesame oil different from sesame oil?
Hi Kiki, They are slightly different; regular sesame oil is made from raw sesame seeds whereas Asian sesame oil is made from toasted seeds, so it has a much richer, deeper flavor. Because this recipe calls for just a tsp. of Asian sesame oil, it won’t significantly affect the outcome if you use regular sesame oil. Enjoy!
Great recipe! Changed the veggies and added chicken but did not change the sauce. We loved it!
This came out way too salty. I think I should have used low sodium soy sauce.
I double checked my ingredients and measurements.
I had the same experience using regular soy sauce. I typically salt everything, so when something is too salty for me, then it’s pretty darned salty. Low sodium soy sauce may, or may not, be the answer here; but, I’ll try it before passing judgment on this recipe.
Just wanted to point out that there is no added salt in this recipe. The major source of salt would come from the soy sauce. So using low sodium soy sauce would likely make a difference. And/or reduce the volume of soy sauce. Also the quantities used here do not seem to be exceptional. Anyway, taste is a very personal thing!
Way too salty!! I used the low-sodium soy sauce, and it was still entirely too salty. Also, the sauce was too thick and gooey, and I followed the recipe exactly. With the gooey and the salt, I had to add water just to make it edible. Yuck!
Made this last night and we loved it. We used different veggies but made the sauce exactly per the recipe and followed the instructions. My only question is on the garlic. The ingredients list says “3 cloves garlic”. Is your intention for them to be added whole? I chopped mine up fine before adding along with the green onion and ginger. Another great keeper of a recipe. The sauce is wonderful.
Thanks for catching that, Beverly – the garlic should be chopped. So glad you enjoyed it!
We made this Chinese Vegetable Stir-Fry tonight for dinner. It is DELICIOUS!!! Love that we know exactly what is going into the dish (as compared to take-out). We prepared a spicy shrimp dish and brown rice to accompany. Thank you for this recipe. We will definitely put it in our regular rotation.
Hi! Can’t wait to try it but would love more veggies in this dish. What else do you suggest (was thinking kale or bok choy). Any tips would be helpful. Thanks!
Hi Uzma I think bok choy would be a nice addition here. You could also consider adding thinly sliced carrots or some water chestnuts for a little bit of crunch. I’d love to hear how you tweak it!
Looking forward to making this Jen. I would like to add shrimp. Would it be best to add them with the garlic, ginger and scallions?
Hi Kathleen, Once you add the garlic, ginger and scallions there’s only another 1-2 minutes of cook time so I’d probably add them a little before. For large shrimp, you’d need to allow 3-4 minutes total cook time.
This looks great! I’d like to add beef or chicken to it as a main dish. What’s the best way to do this?
Hi Elizabeth, I’d sauté the chicken in a bit of oil separately and then add it at the end with the broccoli. That way you can be sure it doesn’t overcook.