4.
"I Need Vegetables!" Stir Fry
You know the feeling. Maybe it’s Monday after a weekend where you subsisted on chips. Maybe you had a week of back-to-back client dinners. Or, maybe you’ve been traveling for six consecutive weeks and can’t remember the last time you saw a “salad” that wasn’t primarily mayonnaise.
Whatever the reason, you need vegetables, and you need them now.
I’m in the midst of seven back-to-back trips: France for my 40th, Denver for my goddaughter’s First Communion, NYC for work, Northern Michigan for a family reunion, Charleston for work, Austin for our annual Well Plated team retreat, and Portland, Maine for a girls’ trip. WHOAH.
In one of our few and fleeting nights at home, my body was crying out for an infusion of vegetables.
Life is too short to sit around munching on raw carrot sticks, so instead I turned to one of the tastiest ways to deliver a boatload of vegetables in a single, delicious forkful: stir fries!
One of the roadblocks to cooking with a lot of vegetables is that chopping them takes time.
As much as I’d enjoy it if my stir fry contained a seven-vegetable medley, by the time I’ve finished prepping one or two, I’m usually hungry and over it (and that’s before I’ve minced garlic and ginger).
Enter my top trick for cramming in a bunch of veg with zero additional prep: broccoli slaw.
Available next to the coleslaw, broccoli slaw contains a broader mix of veggies (usually broccoli, cabbage, and carrots). It’s super thinly sliced, so it all but disappears when sautéed.
It’s also my go-to for my favorite coleslaw recipe and the creamy avocado slaw I add to Shrimp Tacos.
Another top hurdle I hear from readers: My family doesn’t like vegetables.
That’s where my next tip comes in, and it’s not what you expect.
Mushrooms.
Wait, come back!
If you chop mushrooms suuuuuper finely and sauté them with ground meat, the two become almost identical in texture and color.
Add the magic of soy sauce, garlic, and ginger, and you can’t taste the difference, promise!
My final me-need-veggies-now addition to this recipe is celery.
Since many recipes only call for one or two stalks, this is a great place to use up any leftovers. It provides crunch and tastes mild.
No celery on hand? No prob to leave it out.
The flavors in this recipe are loosely based on laarb, a traditional minced meat salad popular in Northern Thailand.
Its flavors are tangy and zippy thanks to lime and ginger, with a savory punch from fish sauce and loads of freshness from cilantro and basil or mint.
You can serve this easy ground chicken stir fry with rice, fold it into lettuce cups, or even turn it into a salad by adding your favorite Asian dressing. I love the one in this Asian Cabbage Salad.
This recipe yields a generous amount, so it’s ideal for leftovers.
I find the easiest way to peel ginger is with a small spoon. Once peeled, chop the ginger finely, but don’t worry about having micro pieces. The zing you get from larger bits is part of the dish's appeal.
Yield: serves 6
The only garlic press I don’t hate. I’m pretty anti single-use kitchen tools (who needs a garlic press when you have a knife and a cutting board?) so when a friend gifted this to me, insisting “you won’t hate this one,” I was skeptical. Turns out she was right! It’s a breeze to use and clean. I now gift it to others.
Citrus juicer. If you don’t own one of these, you are leaving (juicy) money on the table. They extract SO much more juice from limes and lemons, and make juicing much faster and easier too. The one I linked I’ve used and loved for nearly 10 years.
2 tablespoons canola oil, or similar neutral cooking oil, divided
2 pounds ground chicken or turkey
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, super finely chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce, divided
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, plus more to taste, divided
¼ teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste
1 (12-ounce) bag broccoli slaw
4 garlic cloves, minced, about 2 tablespoons
2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
4 green onions, thinly sliced, white and light green parts separated from the dark green parts
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, from about 1 juicy lime
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup chopped or torn fresh mint or basil
For serving: white rice or brown rice
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