Peanut veggie stir-fry

This stir-fry is the perfect recipe for dinner on a busy night. It cooks up quick and easy in just one pan, and is flexible enough to use whatever veggies you have in the crisper or freezer. The peanut sauce is rich and creamy, adding a punch of protein to the crispy veg. Serve over rice or vermicelli noodles.

For the peanut sauce:

• 1/4 cup peanut butter
  
  
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
  
  
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey
  
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
  
  
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For the stir-fry:

• 1 tablespoon oil
  
  
• 2-3 cups mixed stir-fry vegetables, i.e. onions, broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms

To serve:

• Rice or noodles
  
  
• Optional garnish; cilantro, crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, Sriracha sauce, lime, green onions

1. Cook rice or noodles according to package directions.
   
   
2. Combine sauce ingredients- peanut butter, soy sauce, honey or brown sugar, garlic, and red pepper flakes- in a small bowl, and whisk until smooth.
   
   
3. Peel and chop veggies into bite-sized pieces.
   
   
4. Heat oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add veggies, and cook until slightly tender but still crisp, around 4-6 minutes. Stir constantly so that the veggies don't burn
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5. Pour stir-fry sauce into the pan, and stir to coat veggies. Cook for another minute or two, stirring constantly, until the sauce has thickened.
   
   
6. Remove pan from heat. Serve stir-fry over rice or noodles, with whatever garnishes are desired.

• Stir-fry should be cooked over high heat, so that veggies cook but stay crispy. This means that stir-fry cooks very quickly and needs to be stirred constantly so that it doesn't burn. Make sure to prep all your ingredients in advance so that they can be quickly added to the pan!
  
  

• To increase the spiciness of the sauce, try adding more pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, Sriracha sauce, or hot chili sauce. To decrease the spiciness, omit the pepper flakes or add cooling ingredients like coconut milk or ginger.
  
  
• Stir-fry can be made with frozen veggies. To keep them from getting mushy, don't thaw frozen veggies in advance. Add them to the hot pan directly from the freezer, and cook until warmed through.
  
  
• Add a protein like tofu, chicken, or beef. Slice into bite-sized pieces, and stir-fry in a tablespoon of oil before cooking the veggies. Remove from the pan, and cook the rest of the stir-fry as directed. Stir protein into the veggies and sauce before serving.
  
  
• To make with day-old rice or noodles, just stir rice or noodles into the pan along with the veggies and sauce, and cook until hot.

• Store leftovers in an air tight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Recipe adapted from Pittsburgh Food Bank

Food is Too Expensive! was funded by the City of Saskatoon through our Healthy Yards partnership, the Cyril Capling Trust Fund of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, and the Department of Plant Sciences. Focus group research to inform this work was collected by CHEP. Thank you all for helping us make healthy food more accessible!