5-Spice Veggie Stir-Fry
You can never go wrong with a good stir-fry! It’s one of those versatile and customizable dishes that you can dress up any way you like. And, not to mention it can be a quick meal and its easy to make large batches. For me, this 5-spice veggie stir-fry is all about the veggies and spices, hence its name.
I made this 5-spice veggie stir-fry for the hubby and I while we were doing a Daniel fast and it was a winner. Although he may be a bit biased. It was the perfect meal that was quick and tasty. My 5-spice veggie stir-fry is loaded with zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, mushroom, onion, and three different colored peppers. I also added a bit of freshly grated ginger and garlic. To keep it on the healthier side and allergen free for me, I used brown rice as the base.
The instructions are very simple for this recipe! Cook your rice first. For this 5-spice veggie stir-fry recipe, I like to cook my rice with vegetable broth to add another layer of flavor. I even like to make my own. While the rice is cooking, prep all of your veggies and make the spice blend.
The spice blend may look familiar, it is the same one from the Stuffed Bell Peppers recipe. It calls for star anise pods, coriander seeds, whole cloves, fennel seeds, and a cinnamon stick. Feel free to also add black peppercorns to this mix. You can make a large batch to use for a variety of dishes, or buy a 5-spice seasoning blend. Toast the ingredients together for 5-7 minutes. Once the spices have cooled, use a spice grinder or a pestle and mortar to finely grind.
This is the spice grinder that I like to use.
Soften the vegan ghee and add some of the spice mixture to it. Ghee is a clarified butter from India, mostly used Middle Eastern cuisine. You can soften the ghee to room temperature or by slowly warming it with a double boiler. I use a makeshift double boiler by using a heat-safe glass bowl that sits in a small pot with water over heat.
Heat a wok or frying pan over high heat with a teaspoon or so of ghee. Add the ginger and garlic to the wok and cook for about 30 seconds to one minute. Then add two rounded cups of the rice and veggies. Stir frequently adding the ghee and spice mixture bit by bit. Once the veggies are tender and the ghee and spices are well blended, add the soy sauce. One to two tablespoons should be sufficient, but I never measure it, so add it by feel/taste. After mixing remove from heat and serve.
5-Spice Veggie Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 1 zucchini
- 1 yellow squash
- 1 handful baby carrots
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 handful mushrooms
- 3 bell peppers (multi-colored)
- 1 thumb grated ginger
- 4 minced garlic cloves
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp vegan ghee
- gluten-free soy sauce
Spice Blend
- 2 star anise pods
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 6 whole cloves
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 6 whole black peppercorns optional, however, free to leave it in if you are using leftover spice mixture from the stuffed bell pepper recipe.
Instructions
- Cook your rice first. Make sure you give it a good wash. Feel free to use vegetable broth instead of water for added flavor.
- Prep your veggies. Chop them down to the size that you want! Then, mix the veggies and the rice in a large bowl.
- Grate the ginger and mince the garlic.
- Soften the ghee and add one tsp of the spice mixture.
- Heat a wok or frying pan over high heat with tsp of ghee.
- Add the ginger and garlic to the wok and cook for about 30 seconds to one minute. Then add two rounded cups of the rice and veggies. Stir frequently adding the ghee and spice mixture bit by bit.
- Once the veggies are tender and the ghee and spices are well blended, add the soy sauce. One to two tablespoons should be sufficient, but I never measure it, so add it by feel/taste. After mixing remove from heat and serve.
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