Sometimes, I just like things to be simple, quick, and to the point, especially with food. That’s why when I have a lot of vegetables on hand and I am not sure what to do with them, I default to stir-fried.
What’s great about stir-frying is that it doesn’t matter what vegetables you have–all of them taste delicious when cooked this way. Also, it’s so simple to do that you can’t really mess it up.
I like to mix different kinds of vegetables to have a variety of texture and flavor: a hard vegetable like carrots or radishes, a softer vegetable like green beans or asparagus, and a vegetable you only cook for a few minutes or so, like broccoli or bell pepper.
Simplest Stir Fried Vegetables
Yields: 2-4 Servings | Time: 15 minutesIngredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (flavored oils work great here)
- 2 cups hard and thick vegetables like carrots or radishes, cut into 1/2″ thick pieces
- 2 cups softer, thinner vegetables like green beans, snow peas, or asparagus
- 1 cup fast-cooking vegetables like broccoli or bell pepper
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
- In a wok or a large nonstick skillet over high heat, warm the olive oil until you see a tiny wisp of smoke.
- Add all of your vegetables to your pan except for the fast cooking ones. Cook the vegetables on high heat until slightly tender and browning, about 5-10 minutes.
- Add the fast cooking vegetable and cook an additional 2-5 minutes, or until it is also tender and browned but not overcooked.
- Add salt and pepper as desired.
Notes
- Any of the vegetables can be substituted or removed. Just keep in mind that if you add faster- or slower-cooking vegetables, you’ll need to add them later or earlier, respectively.
Food For Thought 