Who needs takeout when it’s this easy?! The goal of this recipe was to show just how quick it is to throw together a restaurant quality stir fry on a weeknight with whatever you have in the fridge! This super simple Veggie Stir Fry combines the meatiness of the portobellos and the freshness of the veggies with a great umami sauce that you’ll be using on everything once you see how easy it is.
I’ve picked a few fresh veggies that go nicely together for this recipe, but you can literally use whatever you want in this dish. It’s one of those things that I can always throw together if I don’t know what to make and I’m short on time. Some other great options for veggies would be broccoli, bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, green peppers, eggplant, snow peas, baby corn, carrots, or even asparagus. This list goes on!
Cooking tips for a great Veggie Stir Fry:
Prep your veggies first-
Once you start the heat on your pan, this dish will go fast, so make sure you have all your veggies chopped beforehand. I like to mix my sauce while the veggies are cooking to save time, but if you feel that you may get flustered, go ahead and mix it ahead of time as well. It comes together really quickly to it’ll only add a couple minutes onto your total time.
Sautéing the mushrooms by themselves-
Sautéing the mushrooms first is a good way to bring out a bit more of their flavor, although this is not absolutely necessary. If you want to skip this step, start with your onions first, followed by the garlic after a couple minutes, and then the rest of your veggies right after that.
The steaming method-
Since I’m not using oil in this recipe, I use a steaming method by placing the cover on the pan during the cooking process. This not only allows the veggies to cook faster, but it allows them to release some water so you things don’t stick to the pan and gives them a nice crisp texture. You just want to make sure you don’t leave the lid on too long, or things might get a little too soft.
How do I make the sauce for this stir fry?
-It’s as simple as mixing everything together in a bowl and then adding to the pan.
-Pro-tip:When mixing your sauce, add the miso paste and maple syrup to the bowl first, and combine the two to stir out all the clumps. Then add the remainder of your ingredients. It will save you a bit of trouble getting all those clumps out.
-Add your sauce to the pan once the all the veggies are cooked to your liking. Once you turn up the heat, the sauce should thicken quickly, in just about 1 minute, so you’ll be ready to serve right away!
What do I serve with this dish?
We love to eat this with short grain sushi style rice, rice or ramen noodles. We love the brown rice and millet ramen from Costco that come in the big bag. They are super simple to boil up, and then just add your stir fry on top. There will be plenty of sauce from the veggies to coat the noodles.
I love to add green onions and also have a side of kimchi to get in that extra fermented goodness. And of course sriracha is a must!
Do I need to use fresh garlic?
If you want to cut down even more on the cooking time and effort for this dish, just add either garlic powder or jarred crushed garlic to your sauce. The fresh garlic gives a nice flavor, but this dish will be just as satisfying with out it.
Can I add tofu to this veggie stir fry?
Absolutely! The easiest way that I have found is to drain and press your tofu about 20 minutes before you start to cook. Then cut your tofu into cubes and cook in the air fryer at 380 degrees for about 15 minutes, or in your oven at 400 degrees for 15-20. When the cubes have crisped up, you can either add them to the veggies at the end so they get coated in the sauce as well, or just serve a few pieces on the side. Make sure you start the tofu though before you start cooking your stir fry, or it will be done before the tofu.
Is this Gluten Free?
This can easily be modified to gluten free by switching the Soy Sauce for Tamari and the Miso Paste for a gluten free based miso like chickpea.
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I hope this give you the confidence to go out and make endless stir fries! Once you get the hang of it, you can really make it your own, and start to add different combinations of veggies, or even adjust the sauce to your preferences.
Happy cooking!
Portobello Veggie Stir Fry
Ingredients
Stir Fry
- 2 portobello mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 red onion
- 3 cloves garlic sliced dice if you do not like large slices of garlic
- 2 cups green beans, trimmed & cut in half
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 cups sugar snap peas can substitute snow peas
- 2 tbsp sliced green onions add for garnish
Sauce
- 1 tbsp miso paste (use gluten free based miso for GF)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 4 tbsp soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos (use tamari or coconut aminos for GF)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar seasoned or unseasoned
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper omit or use less if you don't like spice
- 1/2 tbsp arrowroot powder or cornstarch
- 5 tbsp water
Instructions
- Prep all your veggies to go into the pan, once you start the stir-fry, it will go quickly so you want to have them ready.
- Place sliced mushooms into a large frying pan or wok and spread them in an even layer so they are flat against the pan. Sauté on medium heat
- After mushrooms have started to release a bit of water, about 2-3 minutes, stir a bit to flip and continue to cook.
- Move mushrooms to one side of the pan, and add onions and garlic to the other side.Sauté till fragrant, about 1 minute
- Add red bell peppers and green beans and place cover over the pan. Cook on medium heat for about 4-5 mintues covered, until the veggies start to become tender
- While your veggies are sautéing, assemble your sauce. In a small bowl, stir together the miso paste and the maple syrup to smooth out the clumps, and then add the remaining sauce ingredients to the bowl and stir well to combine.
- Uncover pan and add snap peas. Stir gently, and cook snap peas for another 2-3 minutes. You may need to replace cover depending on how quickly your other veggies are cooking to speed along the snap peas.
- Once veggies are tender, turn up the heat to medium high and add the sauce to the pan. Stir until sauce has thickened and all veggies are coated well.
- Sprinkle with silced green onions and serve with rice, rice noodles, tofu, or in lettuce wraps!
Want to try another quick weeknight recipe?
Our Creamy Asparagus Soup is always a hit, and you can make it in your blender!
2 Responses
This sauce is super simple to make!
Glad you had a good experience with it Andrea! It’s a very versatile sauce 🙂