This is the stir-fry we had last night. Note, no meat or grains in this picture - I'll address adding those below. For now, here are some tips on making stir-fry that I've gathered over the years:
(onions, bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, sugar snap peas, kale)
NOTES:
- The point is to keep it going over high heat and moving the whole time. Thus the name - STIRfry.
- Obviously, you'll need to add a couple tablespoons of oil to the bottom of the pan to start with... (I use that much for 8 cups of veggies for the whole family). I typically use vegetable oil or coconut oil. Olive oil is a bit too heavy for this dish, and sesame oil burns too quickly. (But I like to add a splash at the end for flavor.) Put your oil in the pan and turn the heat on high while you're finishing chopping the vegetables to bring it up to heat. If it runs easily across the bottom of the pan, you're doing good and ready to fry. If it starts smoking, you are at burning point and need to toss those veggies in asap!
- Different vegetables cook at different rates, so if you find that you don't typically like stir fry because of the mushy cabbage and crispy broccoli (or the other way around!), you can opt to layer the ingredients into the pan as they cook... start by throwing in the hard things that take a longer time (like carrots and broccoli) and after you've given those a couple minutes, add things like zucchini and onions that need less time, and at the very end throw in cabbage, or kale, and things like mushrooms. These days I'm not patient enough for all that thinking and dump everything in at once, come what may. But if texture is an issue for you, this may help.
- One of the things I really like to do with stir fry is chop my veggies in different ways that make them more enjoyable to eat. I love cutting things at a bias (diagonally) because it gives you more surface area to grab - especially if you're having fun and using chop sticks. I do this with snap peas, carrots, and zucchini. I leave longer stems on my broccoli and cut the florets apart so they aren't a mouthful in themselves. I slice my cabbage and onions long and thin. You can find whatever appeals to you in chopping your veggies. Which, by the way, is a great do-ahead step to make dinner quicker.
- Two cups of stir fried veggies (including the oil they're cooked in) equals about 140 calories. (I believe that includes a splash of sauce as well.)
Adding protein and grains:
- The grains we typically eat with stir fry are rice, quinoa, or noodles. Right now, obviously, I've cut noodles out of my diet, so I won't be partaking of that. I will usually have a half cup of quinoa or rice with mine. Both are 120 calories, but the quinoa is better for me if I am not adding any other protein.
- If I want to have some sort of meat or seafood, this is a meal I don't mind adding it to. Six ounces of shrimp or four ounces of white chicken meat are both only 100 calories. Not bad.
- If you are going to brown your meat in the pan, do it first, then scoop it out and set it aside.
Sauces and flavoring:
- I used to get all fancy and make my own sauce with soy sauce, ginger, brown sugar and thicken it with cornstarch. These days, if I use a sauce, I just throw a couple tablespoons of Yoshidas or Kikkoman stir fry sauce on top at the very end and mix it in to the whole pan - we don't like our veggies swimming in sauce, so a little goes a long way (and keeps the calories down). Because of the high sugar content in these, they'll burn if you add them any sooner. Which is also why I'll avoid them when I'm being strict. If I have no sauce, I like to sprinkle on a great asian seasoning mix I got at Costco that has dried garlic, ginger, sesame seeds, etc in it. Yum!
If you have a wok, great. If not, a large pan with sides works. Heck, you can even use a big pot if that's what you have! The idea is to add as many veggies as you can and keep them moving over high heat. Make yourself a wonderful rainbow of veggies on your plate! Enjoy!
2 cups of veggies, 1/2 cup grain, 4-6 ounces meat - Total meal = 360 calories! Nice!
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