Though long, the tile conveys exactly what I was feeling the day I cooked this stir fry: tired, too lazy to run for groceries, uninspired to get in the kitchen and to pick up my camera. Haven’t we all had those days? You know, when even reaching for a glass of water that is sitting right next to you seems like a huge task. Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit…
Laziness aside, this vegetable stir fry is great for emptying out your refrigerator’s veggie drawer or when that’s all you have left to eat in your house. Another great thing is that there isn’t much of cleaning up to do, in fact if you eat it right out the pan then you won’t have to wash plates and cutlery. I kid of course, I mean really, who would do that? Ahem…
As for what vegetables are best to use, whatever you have in the veggie drawer. To give the stir fry extra flavour we will need to add some sambal oelek sauce. This fiery chili sauce, with Indonesian origins, is one of the best condiments you can have in your kitchen — in fact you should have a jar at all times. But if you are a vegan or vegetarian please be aware that some commercially made sambal can contain fish sauce or shrimp paste, make sure to read the label.
The blog post’s title probably takes longer to type out then the actual cooking time of the stir fry, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t make it. Below is a basic guide for you to follow but feel free to use your favourite veggies.
- 1 extra small onion, cut into 8 sections and separated
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- about 1 cup of small broccoli florets
- 1 large green bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips
- 1 extra large portabello mushroom, thinly sliced
- 1 small zucchini, cut into coins
- 2 tablespoons of sambal oelek (it's spicy so adjust to your taste)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp olive or oil of choice (you may need less or a tad more)
- For stir frys it is very important to have all the ingredients ready to cook. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok, once warm add the onions and cook until soft. Add the mushrooms and cook until they have softened, they will release a dark liquid that will dye the other vegetables. Add the garlic, soy sauce and the sambal and cook another 2 minutes. Next add the broccoli florets and sauté for 2 minutes, then add the bell peppers and cook another 2-3 minutes. Please make sure to keep stirring the pan to evenly cook the vegetables and distribute the flavourings. Lastly add the zucchini coins and cook until they begin to soften -- careful as they are fragile. Taste and adjust soy sauce and/or sambal if necessary. Serve with red rice or white steamed rice or noodles of choice.
--If you don't have sambal you can use any other chili sauce. Alternatively, if you don't eat spicy food then omit the chili sauce altogether or maybe, substitute with some oyster sauce.
See how easy and simple the “recipe” is? But just because it’s simple that doesn’t mean it isn’t packed with yummy flavours.
If you’d like more meatless meal recipes please be sure to check out my archives or my dedicated Pinterest group board. Have a great Monday and I hope it is a meatless one!
We all have such days… Lately, I have been feeling very lazy.
This stir-fry looks mighty good! Simple, but tasty.
Cheers,
Rosa
I thinks it’s the winter weather that adds to it too, would you agree? Thank you Rosa!
I’m not always this creative when I am feeling lazy. This looks tasty–and it is simple to make, which is perfect for those lazy days.
It really is quite simple but still full of yummy flavour. Thanks Victoria!
Girl you hit the nail right on the head! I have been a very lazy blogger lately. Hopefully, savoring this delicious stir-fry will help to bring me out of the slumps.
Maybe it’s the bad weather everywhere, or the winter blues?:) Thank you Sandra!
This is funny…we’ve all had moments where we just need to keep it simple…and cleaning out the fridge, not wasting, is a great thing. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Monica, thanks!:)
Ah, but you did take photos and lovely they are too. I have those days when all I want to do is throw everything in the fridge together into a wok and cook some rice. It actually makes a pretty healthy meal.
I forced my lazy butt to, lol! Yeah those are great and healthy meal. Thanks Suzanne
Am truly laughing as something very like it was on my luncheon plate only an hour or two ago! No, I did not feel lazy, yes I was sort’of cleaning out the vegetable drawers ~ but, living here Down Under this is part of the usual drill 2-3 times a week! Fast, fun, healthy and each time different :) ! Oh oyster sauce and hoi sin and fish sauce and dry sherry and verjuice etc et al may join the fun on the kitchen bench and wok also :) ! Beautiful photos as usual!!
Hehe, that’s great that you do the same to empty out the veggie drawer. Love fish sauce and hoisin but haven’t heard of verjuice — will look it up, thanks. Enjoy your stir frys Eha!
Verjuice actually is NOT a classsical part of a stirfry. It is unfermented grape juice made famous by our wellknown food doyenne Maggie Beer but now produced commercially by a number of firms and available at most supermarkets. I have found it in recipes on European blogs . . I oft use it when I have run out of mirin or sherry!
Thank you Eha, I did a bit of readying on it and am intrigued. Now I wonder if I can find it here.
We all have this days or periods from time to time. But I can see that you know how to fight with it.
I think you’re right, and it’s okay to have those days too. Thank you Marta!:)
What a delicious looking dish!
Thank you Ms. Yummychunklet:)
Hello there Spicie! I have just found your blog and have to let you know how beautiful it is. Fantastic photos, lovely layout – nicest blog I’ve found in a long time. Vohn x
Hi Vohn! Thank you and glad to hear you are enjoying my blogs. ~Nancy
LOL!! I love the title!! I have been in that mood a lot lately. Luckily I have a lot of recipes that I took beforehand so I can still post. You know this spicy rice is right up my alley. I never thought to let sambal olek be the main ingredient in a fried rice… very clever. :)
That’s great that you have a backlog to fall back on, I usually have a couple too and they come in handy. Thanks Ramona!:)
Great title! I often make a stir-fry just to empty our my refrigerator! This looks a lot like something I could make. Really nice – thanks.
Thank you John! Stir-fries are the best for cleaning out the fridge.
I love quickie meals like this, and yes – we all get into slumps. Sometimes it’s really hard to come up with the inspiration to and energy to cook, take pictures and post. I don’t know how you post as much as you do. I love it that you took a quickie and made a post! It looks delicious!
It’s comforting to know I’m not the only one with days like this. There are bloggers who post every day and I don’t think I could ever do that. Thank you MJ!:)
You’re not alone! I took several days off last week and this week has been very hard! Even just 4-5 days off, I feel like my efficiency went down A LOT. But we all need some time off and relax to recharge! Great stir fried dish!
I’m glad you took those days off Nami, you deserve them. So very true, we all need to remember that. Thank you!