Vegetarian Thai Peanut Stir-Fry

This is a great week-night recipe. It takes less than 30 minutes to make and is a complete meal all in one bowl. Plus, did I mention…it’s delicious!? The sauce is very flavourful. This is definitely one of my favourite meals to make. We eat it quite often. As with a few of my other recipes on The Fig Tree, this recipe lends itself to quite a bit of left overs; which is perfect for work lunches.
You need not use the veggies I have outlined in the ingredient list. Use up whatever you have in the house. Add some diced pineapple. Or maybe some baby corn, some green beans, some snap peas or even some bamboo shoots. You could also add diced tofu to boost the protein value of this dish. Enjoy!



Ingredients

  • 2 cloves of garlic; minced
  • 1 teaspoon of vegetable or canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger; grated (or 1 teaspoon of ground ginger)
  • 1/2 cup of low-fat peanut butter (creamy kind is best)
  • 1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup of honey (or agave syrup if you are making this vegan)
  • 1/4 cup of soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup of water or vegetable stock
  • 1 heaping tablespoon of chile/garlic paste
  • 1 red pepper; chopped
  • 1 yellow pepper; chopped
  • 2 carrots; peeled and chopped
  • 1 large zucchini; chopped
  • 1 bunch of broccoli; cut into small pieces
  • brown rice/basmati rice or angel hair pasta
  • peanuts

Method


1. In a large fry pan, heat the tablespoon of vegetable/canola oil over medium heat. Add the chopped carrots and peppers and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini after 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir veggies every so often while making the sauce. Note: now is a good time to start cooking your rice or putting a pot of boiling water on for your angel hair pasta.


2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the 1 teaspoon of vegetable/canola oil and sauté the garlic and ginger for 1 minute ensuring you don’t burn the garlic. Add the peanut butter and allow it to melt slightly. Once melted, add the water, the soy sauce, the rice vinegar, the honey and the chile/garlic paste. Stir well and reduce to low heat. 


3. Add the broccoli to the fry pan. Pour the sauce over the vegetables. Cook for about 3 minutes; or until the broccoli is just slightly tender.


4. Serve the stir-fry vegetables & sauce over either cooked rice (brown, basmati, jasmine etc) or angel hair pasta. Garnish with peanuts. Cashews would also work well for this recipe.


Serves: 6


Source: Bon Apétit Magazine – January 2003

Comments

  1. says

    I love putting peanuts or cashews on a stirfry! They just seem to add a little extra something. I can’t believe all the great flavours tossed inside of this.

    Why would you make it agave syrup instead of honey to make it vegan? I’m not really up on my vegan rules…

  2. says

    Hey Jeff! :) I know that some vegans don’t like using honey, as it is made by an animal. So a lot of vegan recipes call for Agave instead :)

    I’m going to post an equally tasty stir-fry soon that I think you’ll love. It’s vegetarian singapore style curry noodles. They are SO tasty! :)

  3. Andrea says

    Found this recipe when I googled for vegetarian Thai peanut stir fry. Just wanted to comment that we made it and loved it! Can’t wait to have this tasty meal again :-)

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