A Veggie Stir-Fry Sauce Recipe To Please Even Picky Eaters

We all know a picky veggie eater or two. My daughter happens to be one of them. She’s definitely picky about which vegetables she will or will not eat. You need to know that my daughter is an adult, not a youngster, and when we share meals I make it a point to include foods I like as well as foods she likes, although I never did and never will prepare a separate meal for her.

The other day I found beautiful zucchinis, squashes, red bell peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, and scallions in the market and decided to make a veggie stir fry. I like all of these vegetables; she likes only a few. So, I figured she’d sit down to the finished stir fry and pick out whatever veggies she didn't like, and that would be that.

Much to my surprise, she finished everything on her plate. She pushed no squash, red bell pepper, or scallion slices to the side of the plate. Instead, her plate was empty. Then she went back for seconds.

After dinner, my daughter asked if I’d be writing an article featuring this recipe. I said, no, since there are a couple of million stir fry recipes on the net, not to mention the ones on HubPages. Who needs another one?

She said, “Maybe no one needs another whole stir fry recipe, but picky veggie eaters’ moms and dads need the recipe for your stir fry sauce.” So here we go.

The sauce was sweet and rich without being salty, and thick without being heavy. It was such a good companion for the veggies that I got the impression of, ‘Mmmm! A bit of pepper in my noodles,’ instead of, ‘Sigh, a whole big pepper in my noodles.’

The peppers and carrots were crunchy, the squashes firm. The noodle texture was perfect. Creamy and filling.

In case you didn’t notice, Mom, I actually had noodles left over. That’s never happened before. I didn’t need to chop up the veggies into small pieces and hide them in big noodle clumps.

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 Tablespoon minced red onion

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon Teriyaki sauce

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 Teaspoons prepared mustard

2 Teaspoons agave syrup or 1 Tablespoon honey

1-1/2 Teaspoons cornstarch

1/4 Teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns

1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. That's it!

My stir fry sauce isn't just for enhancing a stir-fried dish. You can use it as a marinade or as a dip as well. Here are some suggestions for using my stir fry sauce, starting with that veggie stir fry that turned my picky eater into a veggie hound.

The beauty of a stir fry is that almost anything goes. I like to take advantage of whatever vegetables are fresh in season. Spring stir fries will showcase sugar snaps, snow peas, radishes, baby carrots, and spring onions. Summer dishes will feature bell peppers, carrots, and summer squashes, while autumn and winter stir fries will have their unique characteristics.

The Veggies

For this amount of stir fry sauce, you want a total of 6 cups of loosely packed sliced vegetables. Here are some of my favorite late summer veggies. Not only are they delicious and good for you, the red, yellow, and green colors make a beautiful presentation. By all means, experiment with the vegetables you prefer.

• Zucchini
• Yellow squash
• Carrots
• Sweet red bell pepper
• Mushrooms
• Green onions (scallions)
• Broccoli florets (blanched)

Wash, drain, trim, and thinly slice the vegetables. Break the blanched broccoli florets into small pieces. Toss all the veggies lightly together in a large bowl and set aside until ready to fry.

The Basic Stir Fry Steps

Following are the bare-bones steps to cooking a vegetable stir fry. For detailed and interesting information about every step of the stir-fry process, see the video to the right.

• Heat a wok or large fry pan on high until hot.
• Add the oil for frying.
• When the oil is hot, add the prepared fresh vegetables, longest-cooking first, shortest-cooking last.
• Stir or toss the vegetables every few seconds for two to three minutes or until crisp-tender.
• Add the stir-fry sauce to the contents of the pan and stir or toss to heat the sauce through and coat the pan contents evenly.

Experiment with Rice, Rice Noodles, and Pasta

You can use almost any kind of rice or noodle as a bed for the stir-fried vegetables. White rice, brown rice, rice noodles, and even pasta are all good choices. Just follow the package instructions for cooking the rice or noodles and then, while they are still warm, top with the finished stir fry.

The noodles my daughter mentioned were white rice noodles. Rice noodles, also often called Pad Thai noodles, either white or brown, have become my favorite for a stir fry bed. They are gluten-free, consisting only of rice flour and water. At about 100 calories and less than a gram of fat per ounce of dry product, rice noodles are sensible and satisfying. When cooked according to package instructions, they have a soft, silky texture without being mushy. However, rice noodles can be hard to find in neighborhood grocery stores, even in the giant chain stores. You may want to consider buying rice noodles in bulk online. Here are some options.

Give your chicken, beef, or pork dishes a bright taste kick by marinating the pieces in the stir fry sauce for a few hours in the refrigerator. After marinating, pan fry in a bit of olive or vegetable oil, or oven bake. Discard the left-over sauce.

When serving Chinese spring rolls, steamed dumplings, scallion breads, and crispy noodles, add my stir fry sauce to the array of sauces you might serve with these dishes. To use as a dip, heat the stir fry sauce to boiling, simmer for a few minutes to thicken, and allow it to cool down to room temperature before spooning out into a small dipping dish.

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