Cook for the Soul: Crunchy Vegetable Stir-fry with Maple Tamari Sauce

27 Jul 2022

Try this fantastic recipe for Crunchy Vegetable Stir-fry with Maple Tamari Sauce shared with Active Retirees by Lucy Lord from her cookbook Cook for the Soul.

SERVES: 4

Stir-frying vegetables keeps them vibrant in colour, flavour and texture. They should still have a bite to them but a lot of it comes down to the timing. Rather than throwing everything into the pan in one go, this vegetable stir-fry cooks the mushrooms separately so that they’re golden and their texture is meaty, rather than allowing everything to meld into one soggy bowl – one of the common mistakes with a stir-fry!

INGREDIENTS

600g mixed mushrooms (oyster, cremini, button, shiitake and/ or enoki), roughly chopped or quartered into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsp peanut oil (or vegetable oil) 80g sugar snap peas
1 yellow pepper, sliced
120g broccolini, thick stems sliced lengthways
red chilli, deseeded and diced (optional)
pak choi, sliced

FOR THE SAUCE:

2 garlic cloves, crushed
3cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
4 tbsp maple syrup 4 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp sesame oil 2 tbsp water Juice of 1 lime

TO SERVE:

Rice or rice noodles
Coriander leaves
Chopped toasted cashews (see Notes)

METHOD

1. Put all the sauce ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine, then taste and adjust with more maple syrup, tamari or lime juice as you like. Add the mushrooms to the marinade and set aside for 15 minutes while you prepare the other vegetables.

2. Heat the oil in a wok or large saucepan over a high heat. Add the sugar snap peas, yellow pepper, broccolini and chilli (if using). Stir fry for 3–4 minutes until the vegetables are tender but still hold some bite. Tip them on to a plate and set aside.

3. Return the pan to the heat and add the mushrooms and sauce. Stir-fry over a high heat until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the pak choi for the last minute, allowing it to wilt slightly, then return the vegetables to the pan and toss everything together to coat with the sauce.

4. Remove from the heat and serve immediately over rice or noodles, scattered with coriander leaves and chopped cashews.

NOTES

• To toast cashews, tip them into a dry frying pan and place over a medium heat for a few minutes until they turn golden brown. Shake the pan occasionally so they toast evenly and keep an eye on them as they burn quickly!

• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Extracted from Cook for the Soul by Lucy Lord (HarperCollins, RRP $34.99). Photography by Martin Poole.