Best Garlic Ginger Vegetable Stir Fry

Growing up, stir-frying vegetables meant dumping everything in the pan at once and hoping for the best. My mom’s version usually ended up as a soggy mess, and I followed in her footsteps for years. I figured that’s just how homemade stir-fries turned out.

Turns out, we were missing two key ingredients that make all the difference: garlic and ginger. Not only that, but the order you add your vegetables matters just as much as what goes into the pan. These days, my stir-fries come out just right – crisp vegetables with plenty of flavor, and it’s become my go-to dinner when I need something quick and healthy.

What Kind of Vegetables Should I Use?

The beauty of stir fry is that you can mix and match vegetables based on what you have in your fridge. While this recipe calls for classics like broccoli, carrots, and bell peppers, you can easily swap in other quick-cooking vegetables like snap peas, bok choy, or green beans. Just remember to cut all your vegetables into similar-sized pieces so they cook evenly. For the best results, make sure your vegetables are dry after washing them – excess water can make them steam instead of stir fry. If you’re using frozen vegetables, thaw and drain them well before cooking to avoid a soggy stir fry.

Options for Substitutions

This stir fry recipe is super flexible and you can make several easy swaps:

• Vegetables: Feel free to mix and match with what you have! Try baby corn, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, snap peas instead of snow peas, or bok choy. Just keep the total amount of veggies about the same.
• Shaoxing wine: If you can’t find Shaoxing wine, dry sherry works great. In a pinch, you can use rice vinegar mixed with a touch of sugar, or even chicken broth with a splash of rice vinegar.
• Dark and light soy sauce: Regular soy sauce can replace both – use 3 tablespoons total. Just know your sauce might be a bit lighter in color.
• Fresh ginger: In a real pinch, you can use 1 tablespoon ground ginger, but fresh really makes a difference in this dish.
• White pepper: Black pepper works fine too, though it will show up as visible specks in your sauce.
• Sesame oil: This gives a nice nutty finish – but if you’re out, you can skip it. Just don’t try to substitute with regular oil, as the flavor is quite different.

Watch Out for These Mistakes While Cooking

The biggest mistake when making stir-fry is overcrowding your pan – cooking too many vegetables at once leads to steaming instead of that perfect crispy-tender texture, so work in batches if needed. Another common error is not having all ingredients prepped and ready before you start cooking, since stir-frying moves quickly and you won’t have time to chop vegetables once you begin. Using oil with too low of a smoke point can make your vegetables taste burnt, so stick with the recommended neutral oils like vegetable or avocado oil, and make sure your pan is hot enough before adding ingredients – you should hear a sizzle when the vegetables hit the pan. For the best results, add harder vegetables like carrots and broccoli first, followed by softer ones like mushrooms and snow peas, and save the tomatoes for last to prevent them from becoming too mushy.

What to Serve With Vegetable Stir Fry?

A steaming bowl of fluffy white rice is the perfect base for soaking up all those tasty stir fry sauce – I usually go for jasmine or basmati rice since they have such a nice aroma. If you’re looking to keep things on the lighter side, cauliflower rice or brown rice work great too. For extra protein, you might want to add some crispy tofu, grilled chicken, or shrimp on the side. I also like to serve this with a simple egg drop soup or some pot stickers if I’m really hungry (or having friends over!).

Storage Instructions

Keep Fresh: This tasty stir fry will stay good in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. The vegetables might soften a bit over time, but the flavors actually get better as they meld together! It’s perfect for meal prep and makes great leftovers for lunch.

Make Ahead: You can prep all the vegetables and make the sauce up to 2 days ahead – just store them separately in the fridge. When you’re ready to cook, everything will be set to go, making dinner super quick and easy. Just remember to bring the sauce to room temperature before using.

Warm Up: To enjoy your leftover stir fry, heat it in a wok or skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can add a splash of water if it seems dry. Microwave works too – just heat in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until it’s heated through.

Preparation Time	10-15 minutes
Cooking Time	5-10 minutes
Total Time	15-25 minutes
Level of Difficulty	Easy

Estimated Nutrition

Estimated nutrition for the whole recipe (without optional ingredients):

• Calories: 450-500
• Protein: 10-15 g
• Fat: 30-35 g
• Carbohydrates: 45-50 g

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup carrots, cut into thin sticks
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (4 ounces)
• 1 sliced bell pepper
• 1 bunch chopped scallions, cut into 1-inch sections
• 1 cup snow peas
• 2 small tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil such as vegetable or avocado oil
• 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger (equivalent to a thumb-sized piece)
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine or a substitute such as dry sherry or mirin
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil, toasted
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, ground

Step 1: Prepare the Stir Fry Sauce

To make the stir fry sauce, gather all the sauce ingredients and place them in a small saucepan.

Heat the saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves completely.

Once done, you can either use it immediately in the stir fry or store it for later use.

Step 2: Prepare the Cornstarch Mixture

In a small bowl, stir together one tablespoon of cornstarch with three tablespoons of cold water.

Mix until the cornstarch is fully dissolved and set this mixture aside for later use.

Step 3: Organize and Prepare the Vegetables

Divide your vegetables into two piles based on cooking time.

The first pile should include heartier, longer-cooking vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms.

The second pile should contain quicker-cooking vegetables such as bell pepper, scallions, snow peas, and tomatoes.

This will help streamline the cooking process.

Step 4: Cook the Heartier Vegetables

Heat a large, heavy skillet or wok over high heat.

Add 1 ½ tablespoons of high-heat oil to the pan.

Once the oil is hot, add the pile of heartier vegetables (broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms).

Stir the vegetables around the pan, cooking until they begin to sweat and soften, which should take about 3 minutes.

Step 5: Add and Cook the Quicker Vegetables

Add the remaining pile of quicker-cooking vegetables to the pan and continue to stir fry for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Ensure the vegetables become tender.

You may need to add another tablespoon of oil if necessary.

The broccoli should appear bright green and crisp-tender, the mushrooms slightly browned and reduced in size, and the snow peas should be bright green and slightly floppy.

Step 6: Add the Sauce and Thicken

Pour the prepared stir fry sauce over the vegetables in the skillet.

Give the cornstarch mixture a quick stir to ensure it’s well mixed, then slowly pour it into the stir fry.

Stir everything around continuously until the sauce thickens and evenly coats the vegetables.

Serve immediately for the best flavor and texture.