The best allergy-friendly meal is one that doesn't taste like it's being restricted. As a non-vegan with vegan and vegetarian friends, it's important to me that, when they come over for dinner, we all enjoy our meal together. When everyone eats the same thing and loves it equally, regardless of their diet, that's a win.
This stir-fry is one of those meals. There is so much flavor in this meal, but it's 100% plant-based. No gluten, no dairy, no grains, no meat or animal by products. Just a lot of flavor and great texture. Make it for anyone, and watch them devour it.
Grain Free Vegan Stir Fry
4
0
minutes0
minutesAn easy dinner you can feed to anyone. So much flavor and texture, and won't leave you feeling heavy or bloated after.
Ingredients
- For the Cauliflower Rice
2 bags riced cauliflower frozen is fine
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pinch salt
- For the Vegetables
6 mini sweet peppers julienne
1/2 yellow onion sliced
1/3 bunch asparagus washed, cut into 1in pieces
2 cups sugar snap peas washed, cut into 1in pieces
8-10 cremini mushrooms cut into thick slices
3 cloves fresh garlic chopped
6 green onions chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil chopped
- For the Sauce
1/4 cup liquid aminos
1 tbsp rice vinegar unsweetened
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp lemon grass paste
2 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp chili garlic paste optional
3 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tsp lime zest
1 tbsp lime juice fresh squeezed
1 1/2 tbsp coconut sugar
- To Cook
3 tbsp avocado oil
Directions
- Cook the Cauliflower Rice
- Heat a ceramic nonstick pan on medium low. Add olive oil, cauliflower rice, sprinkle with salt and toss. Stir every few minutes until fluffy and cooked through. If liquid begins pooling in the bottom of the pan, increase the heat. Set aside, covered, when done.
- Make the Sauce
- Whisk together all the sauce ingredients, and set aside. There will be extra sauce in the end most likely, so save any left over to use when making lunch or as a dipping sauce for other things. It's a great sauce.
- Cook the Vegetables
- Make sure all your vegetables are cut and tossed together in a bowl before starting. Heat your pan on medium high heat.
- Add the avocado oil then immediately add the vegetables. Toss around consistently so everything gets cooked at the same rate, but doesn't overcook. Cook the vegetables this way for 2-3 minutes
- Add 1/4 cup of the sauce and toss around to coat evenly. Once the vegetables look shiny and their color is vibrant, turn off the heat. Total cooking time should be less than 5 minutes.
- Serve
- Serve immediately along side a portion of the cooked cauliflower rice. Top both with a drizzle of the sauce. Enjoy!
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Love!!! So good! Keep cooking so we can too!
Where do you get our black bowls? Do you like them?
Thanks!
These were Crate & Barrel several years ago.
great recipe. i used the sauce on my stir fry last night - it was the best stir fry i have made in a long time! thanks
Hey Chris! I’m excited to try this recipe! Couple of questions:
- do you buy your specialty pastes at specialty grocery stores (i.e Asian grocers) or online?
- I noticed the sauce doesn’t contain a thickening agent (corn starch, etc) which is awesome. Do you find that the pastes help with the consistency or is this simply a thinner sauce (it sounds so good and I love not having to use corn starch!)
Thanks for the inspiration!!
Hi, Gina. When I see special pastes in-store, I snatch them up and develop a recipe for some of the "cooler" ingredients I find. But you can also find specialty pastes online: https://rstyle.me/+7szOmbJzNWsHEjztJH9a0g
And yes! The pastes serve as a thickening agent — no corn starch needed.
Ohh this looks great! I don't eat meat, and love seeing your vegetarian (and easily modifiable!) recipes. Stirfry is one of my go to dinners. I've never tried lemongrass paste, is it usually available at a normal grocer? I'll have to try this take on stirfry soon.
Ps. Andi's food photos are SO good.
You can find lemongrass paste in the Asian or Ethnic food aisle in your grocery store. But if not: https://rstyle.me/+7szOmbJzNWsHEjztJH9a0g
Can't wait for you to try this one!
Does Chris get the lemon grass paste, ginger paste, garlic paste, chili garlic paste, and tamarind paste from a standard grocery store? Never seen them so just curious if they are there. Looks so good! Thanks!
Chris shops for groceries like many of us shop for clothes or shoes :) When he sees an interesting ingredient, he buys it and develops a recipe. Many of these pastes can be found in the Asian or Ethnic foods aisle in your grocery store. The garlic paste and the ginger paste are in the produce section, next to the herbs. If not: https://rstyle.me/+jdRZkFhr0YlHFF5ULEnQsw
Could you talk about the sauce ingredients? What's the purpose of the liquid aminos? You've got a boat load of specialty ingredients, i.e. five different kinds of paste. Why? Can something else substitute? Just the tamarind paste alone can run $5 to $20 per bottle.
Can you add peanut butter or peanuts to the dish? Is there a reason you're using cauliflower instead of actual rice?
I do love a good stir fry but I'm usually working with Yoshi's stir fry sauce which simplifies the dish a lot. Watching you cook suggests to me I should consider adding some lime zest and fresh juice to brighten the flavor.
Liquid Aminos are a soy sauce substitute. Most mass-produced soy sauces contain wheat (gluten), which is something we avoid in our home for medical reasons for a couple of our family members. You could also use Tamari (a slow-brewed soy sauce that contains no wheat), or regular soy sauce if you don't have gluten issues.
Tamarind paste is worth the investment for me, because it only takes a little to go a long way, and it keeps in the fridge for months and months. As for the pastes, you can buy the fresh ingredients and make the pastes yourself. Garlic is cheap, ginger is cheap. Peel and grate the ginger yourself, smash and mince the garlic. Lemongrass can be hard to find fresh, but it's mostly available. Just make sure you really spend the time mashing it or you'll get stringy bits in your stir fry. You could also sub the lemon grass for a little bit of lemon zest - it will give a different flavor than the lemon grass, but still good.
Adding peanut butter or peanuts is definitely an option! At that point you're just talking about a completely different dish, though, but that's fine. Use this as inspiration, make it your own! A great peanut stir fry sauce can be made with peanut butter, agave nectar, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, lime zest, lime juice, and cilantro. It's yummy.
Good catch on the lime. I add fresh citrus to almost everything I cook. And if I add the juice, I usually add a little zest as well.
Thanks for taking the time to answer all my questions. Do you just mince and mash with the side of a chef's knife or use a mortar and pestle to make your pastes?
Appreciate all the tips.
Mince and mash — but either method works! Thanks for following along!
Sounds delicious! What are your recommended measurements if you don’t have all those pastes? But instead have dried seasonings? Or do you only prefer using the paste?
For this I'd recommend the pastes - very different flavor, more dimension to it. Or buying fresh ginger and grating it yourself, and mashing and mincing fresh garlic. If you can't find lemongrass paste then maybe add some a tsp of lemon zest. Won't be the same but will still be great.