This healthy vegetable stir-fry with noodles (or other grains) combines a blend of colorful veggies (practically any veggie you like) in a sweet and savory Asian stir-fry sauce with noodles for a quick, nutritious, and delicious 20-minute meal.
Prepare the vegetables. Wash and dry them well. Then finely slice (or dice) the bell pepper, julienne or thinly slice the carrot (peel first if preferred) and chili, and chunkily slice the spring onions. Depending on the size of your mushrooms, leave them whole or slice them into smaller pieces.
At the same time, mince or grate the ginger and garlic (unless you’re using pre-prepared ginger/garlic paste).
At this point, I also like to measure out all my vegan stir-fry sauce ingredients so they're ready to go when needed.
Step 2: Stir-Fry the Vegetables
Heat your oil of choice over medium-high heat in a large skillet or wok. Once hot, add the garlic, ginger, and chili, and stir-fry for a minute.If you’re planning to add noodles to the dish, you can also prepare them now according to their package instructions.
Add the chopped vegetables (not including the bok choy), and cook for several minutes (usually 3-4) until they’re beginning to become tender.The exact time to cook the vegetables will vary but shouldn't take more than a few minutes for tender-crisp results. For more tender results, they'll need longer.
Add the green onions and stir fry for 20 seconds before adding the bok choy and cooking until tender. I left mine whole, but feel free to break the bok choy up into individual ‘leaves’ if preferred.
Step 3: Add the Vegan Stir Fry Sauce
In a small bowl, whisk together all the sauce ingredients until lump-free.
Pour it over the healthy vegetable stir fry and cook for an extra minute or two until the sauce thickens.Finally, if you want to, add in your noodles and toss them to coat in the sauce (or if they require stir-frying, add when needed, before adding the sauce). Alternatively, you can serve the stir-fried veggies over the noodles or your choice of grain/side.
How to Store and Reheat
Store: once cooked, allow the veggie stir fry to cool and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.Freeze: while it's possible to freeze the stir fry veggies, it can affect the texture of the vegetables upon thawing (it works best when the veggies are more on the firm vs. tender side). If you want to freeze it, I recommend doing so for up to a month only. Then thaw in the fridge before reheating.Reheat: there are two main ways I reheat my vegetable stir fry (with noodles) based on the texture I’d prefer. The first is in the microwave (which provides softer results). Alternatively, you can reheat it in a large skillet/wok with a small amount of additional oil.For meal prep/make-ahead instructions, check the blog post!
Notes
Use a combination of textures: it's a good idea to select a combination of vegetables that will be tender-crisp vs. softer once cooked (i.e., broccoli and mushrooms). It has a better mouthfeel but also works best when reheating the stir-fry.
Add vegetables incrementally: if you’re using a combination of veggies that cook at different times, add them incrementally to the wok (for example, carrots and onions take some time to cook, and mushrooms need time to release their water – so they'd go in first. Meanwhile, peppers and peas cook quickly, and leafy greens, including bok choy, can be added towards the end). That way, nothing becomes overcooked.
Chop the vegetables evenly: if they're in even-sized pieces, they'll cook evenly too. However, the exception to that rule is with veggies that take a lot longer to cook (for example, carrots), which I like to slice very thinly, even if other veggies are cut into more chunky pieces.
To save on prep time: you could also purchase pre-prepared stir-fry vegetable packets.
For a thinner/thicker stir-fry sauce: adjust the amount of cornstarch you add.
Use a large enough pan: if the vegetables are too crowded, they’ll steam rather than stir-fry. Give them plenty of room to cook properly.
Don’t add the sauce too early: or you’ll find it disappears into the dish. Instead, add it at the end, so it’s wonderfully saucy.
Optional Add-ins and Variations:One of the best things about stir-fries is their "clear out the fridge/pantry" ability. For that reason, there are tons of ways you can adapt the vegetable noodle stir fry based on what you have available to you. Here are just a few suggestions for inspiration.
Mirin: add a splash of mirin to the stir-fry sauce for extra depth of flavor.
Sesameseeds: sprinkle over the stir fry veggies raw, or lightly toast in a dry pan until fragrant first.
Protein: easily turn this veggie stir fry recipe into a complete meal with the addition of your protein of choice; chicken, beef, shrimp, or tofu/tempeh work well. Seitan chick'n should also work within this vegetable stir-fried noodles.
Legumes: alongside the above, you can also boost the protein content in this veggie stir fry recipe with legumes like kidney beans, white beans, or chickpeas (I prefer the former).
Other vegetables: there are many to choose from, including cabbage, zucchini, leek, sugar-snap peas, broccoli, green beans, snow peas, baby corn, broccoli, onions, mange tout, Brussel sprouts, asparagus, squash, etc.
Bean sprouts: these add a ton of bulk and texture to vegetable stir-fried noodles.
Water chestnuts: will add a soft crunch for extra texture (and not much flavor).
Other grains: instead of noodles, you could serve these mixed stir-fried vegetables with rice, quinoa, crispy noodles, cauliflower rice, etc.
Check the blog post for more ingredient notes, meal prep instructions, serving suggestions, and answers to top FAQs!