Asian-style mushroom stir fry with veggies or wok vegetable stir fry is very quick and easy to prepare. The dish is about colorful vegetables, slightly crunchy, quickly sautéed in a wok, and seasoned with soy sauce, ginger, chili flakes, and garlic.
If you are looking for a light, complete and tasty recipe, you’ve found it! Please welcome the mushroom stir fry – a delicious recipe born in China which later conquered the West. Generally speaking, stir-frying is an oriental cooking technique in which the ingredients are fried in a small amount of boiling oil while they are stirred in a wok pan typical of oriental cuisine made of cast iron or iron. The stir fry combines flavors, taste, and aromas. What characterizes the flavor of stir-fry is usually the typical sauces of Thai cuisine. No Thai dish will ever miss at least one of the sauces such as the fish sauce, soy sauce, and oyster sauce which give that typical salty-sweet-sour flavor.
In my version of mushroom stir fry, the mushrooms are brown champignons paired with crunchy vegetables such as bell peppers, celery sticks, and spring onion. The texture of the stir fry vegetable is completely different from what we are used to. It is very crunchy, tending to raw I would say, but it is delightful! Crunchy is the perfect word to describe it! To spice up the dish I added thyme, ginger, garlic, lemon, and the irreplaceable soy sauce. The spices like chili, lime, ginger soy sauce, and others can be added directly to the dish as desired to regulate spiciness and flavor. I have officially become a huge fan of Thai cuisine. One of the best in the world in my opinion. Read below what it takes to cook the simple and yummy mushroom stir fry with veggies.
Ingredients for mushroom stir-fry
I wanted to prepare something light yet special, so I chose the ingredients that ensured the success of this dish. The list of ingredients is rather short and I promise you don’t have to drop major dough to make it delicious. Also, the mushroom stir fry will please each of your family members without breaking the bank. Here is what it takes:
- Mushrooms. You can use whatever mushrooms you like most. My preference is the brown champignons because they have a more pronounced earthy taste and because they just look so good when browned.
- Bell peppers. Choose the brightly colored veggies for an extra beauty touch on the plate. My option is yellow and red bell peppers.
- Celery stick, because it is crunchy, refreshing, and bright
- Spring onion
- Sesame oil for sautéing
- Starch to thicken the soy sauce, thus the saucy base
For the spices you will need:
- Chili flakes. Thai cuisine teaches the rest of the world how much deliciousness the chili can add to any dish
- Ginger
- Thyme
- Soy sauce
- Lemon juice
There are no fixed amounts for this mushroom fry stir in terms of ingredients ratio – just choose your favorite vegetables. In terms of quantity, I would say that 10 oz of raw vegetables is enough to feed one person, especially if served with rice or noodles.
How to slice the vegetables for mushroom stir fry
Different from other cooking techniques, stir fry is about frying small portions of ingredients in a small amount of oil at high temperatures. Thus, due to the fact that the vegetables are heat-processed for a short time, it is important to cut them correctly. Upon proper slicing of the vegetables, the color and texture, as well as minerals and vitamins are preserved.
Dry the vegetables after washing them, don’t forget to remove the liquid. Excess fluid violates the process. Slice the ingredients thinly, lengthwise into equal pieces in time. Use a sharp knife to ease the task.
Why is a wok better for stir fry?
The wok is a frying pan with high edges and a convex bottom. When cooking in a wok, the heat is evenly distributed inside, and the ingredients are cooked quickly and simultaneously. Specifically for stir-frying, the actual cooking time of each ingredient is a highly important thing, as well as the consecutive order.
The idea is not to turn the veggies into a watery, mushy consistency. And the high temperature namely distributed evenly is responsible for this aspect. Therefore, to get some finely colored vegetables that retain their shape and slight crunchiness – the wok is the best pan.
What is the best cooking oil for stir fry?
I’ve learned that one oil can be useful in salads, but harmful on the pan. As what it takes for salads, the perfect oil is based on the ratio between omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids.
When choosing the perfect oil for frying, another parameter is taken into account – the smoking temperature. We’re talking about the state when the oil begins to eliminate harmful substances. Therefore, a popular stir-fry oil is sesame oil. It has a high smoking temperature, moreover, it has a pleasant Asian aroma – exactly what we need for a stir fry.
How to cook the mushroom stir fry?
Wash and slice the vegetables lengthwise. Heat the wok as well as possible and maintain this temperature throughout cooking. Pour the oil directly into the wok before frying the ingredients to avoid smoking it.
Follow the frying order of the ingredients. First add the spices, chili flakes, grated ginger, and minced garlic cloves. Sauté for a few seconds. Then add the vegetables; start by frying the bell peppers and the celery for about 2 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and the spring onion. Fry for another 3 minutes. Finally, mix the soy sauce with 1 tsp of starch and mix everything in the wok. Cook for another 2 minutes. As a general rule for the best result, don’t load the wok with too many ingredients.
To add an extra Thai touch to the stir fry, sprinkle everything with sesame seeds and serve while still hot! For a heartier meal, serve the mushroom stir fry with some basmati rice, black rice, or noodles.
That is all it takes to cook the best mushroom stir fry. Hope you enjoy this recipe. See the video for a more thorough presentation. Enjoy!
Mushroom Stir Fry with Veggies
Equipment
- wok
Ingredients
- 8 oz mushrooms
- 1 bell pepper half red, half yellow, optional
- 2 sticks celery
- 3-4 spring onions
- 2-3 tbsp sesame oil or olive oil
- 1 tsp starch
Spices
- 1 tsp chili flakes optional
- 1 tsp ginger grated
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp lemon juice optional
Instructions
- Wash and slice the vegetables lengthwise
- Heat the wok and pour the oil directly into the wok before frying the ingredients to avoid smoking it
- Add the spices, chili flakes, grated ginger, and minced garlic cloves. Sauté for a 20 seconds
- Add the sliced bell peppers and the celery, fry for about 2 minutes
- Add the mushrooms and the spring onion. Fry for another 3 minutes
- Mix the soy sauce with 1 tsp of starch and pour it into the wok. Mix and cook for another 2 minutes
- Sprinkle everything with sesame seeds and squeeze in the lemon juice (optional)
- Serve with pleasure
