We have a fairly new stir-fry restaurant in our mall food court that is actually very good. They do fantastic chicken (or beef or shrimp) teriyaki that takes them only a few minutes to cook on their super hot griddle. They accompany it with fried rice and delicious veggies. I’ve never really been able to do stir-fried veggies quite right. They always turn out too sweet or too overcooked or too bland. So I watched the mall-food-chef do his veggies and tried it myself at home. They actually turned out great!Cabbage – sliced into long strips
Broccoli – cut into bite-size pieces
Carrots – Sliced with potato peeler
Onion – Cut into eighths and separated
Sesame Oil
Sesame Seeds
Soy Sauce
I coated the bottom of my electric skillet with cooking spray and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil (You can use a dutch oven, but you need a large pot with a lid.) and heated it to 340 degrees. Next I added the veggies, turning to coat with the sesame oil. I sprinkled generously with sesame seeds. I tossed it all again to get the seeds and oil evenly distributed on the veggies. Then I covered it to let the steam cook the veggies. Because the skillet is so hot, stir the veggies often. It only takes a few minutes to cook (4-5 depending on your skillet). As the veggies are almost done, sprinkle with soy sauce. I used regular and they were pretty salty. You can use low-sodium soy sauce if you prefer. Either way, definitely DO NOT add salt until you taste. Give it a good stir to evenly distribute the soy over the vegetables. Do not overcook or your veggies will be mushy – NOT the idea for stir-fried veggies. You want them to be crisp.
That’s all there was to it. The sesame oil and sesame seeds are the key to this dish. They add the authentic flavor that I had been missing all along. And since we only used a little oil, these veggies are a nice, healthy side dish. Let me know if you make them!
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