Stir Fry Meals

What are ya alls suggestions regarding Stirfry meals? I am trying to pick healthy foods that both my boyfriend and I can eat together. He tends to like more stirfry stuff then boiled or baked. Im the opposite, but if it means getting him to eat more veggies then I will go with the stirfry as well. I have searched the web for recipes, but none have sparked my interest. Perhaps someone here will have something delicious:-P

Just a thought, maybe you should be looking for recipes that sparkle his interest? :)

My suggestion is to start incorporating lots of veggies into healthy sauces for whole rice/pasta/potatoes (which I assume he already eats), dips for whole wheat crackers/bread, and soups. As he starts to enjoy the flavours you can incorporate more and more veggies into the dishes.

Thing is, I`ve seen many of your recent threads, and while it is truly remarkable that you are so concerned about your boyfriend`s health and lifestyle, you don`t want him to feel overwhelmed or burdened by too many big changes at once. Take it a step at a time, remember how it started for you - I`ll bet you didn`t give up soda and start eating tons of veggies overnight either!

Best of luck to both of you.

I'm a little confused about your question.. but stir frys are great because you can put in whatever you want.  When I am putting in chicken I like to buy the pre-cut perdue chicken they have some nice flavors - i like the honey one.  I throw in all sorts of stuff like mushrooms, onions, zuchini, asparagus, carrots, potato, broccoli (not all at once.. but whatever I have or feel like having).  I use pam and extra virgin olive oil and I like to throw in some herbs - right now i like this garlic/onion one.  If you are looking for side dishes with a stir fry a baked potato is nice or rice maybe - I love uncle ben's but they have a lot of sodium.

Original Post by ily51:

Just a thought, maybe you should be looking for recipes that sparkle his interest? :)

My suggestion is to start incorporating lots of veggies into healthy sauces for whole rice/pasta/potatoes (which I assume he already eats), dips for whole wheat crackers/bread, and soups. As he starts to enjoy the flavours you can incorporate more and more veggies into the dishes.

Thing is, I`ve seen many of your recent threads, and while it is truly remarkable that you are so concerned about your boyfriend`s health and lifestyle, you don`t want him to feel overwhelmed or burdened by too many big changes at once. Take it a step at a time, remember how it started for you - I`ll bet you didn`t give up soda and start eating tons of veggies overnight either!

Best of luck to both of you.

Well we always eat stirfry meals from the freezer section, but I want to make homemade ones. He was recently asking me to do some research to find some good home made stirfry receipes. I asked his opinion on alot of the ones online, but he didnt seem very interested and also thought alot of the ingredients would be too expensive. Do you have any suggestions on sauces?

It really depends on the veggies that you guys prefer.  A stirfry can be a simple creation with just a veggie over rice or you can add protein or multiple veggies.  I really like more of a hot salad that has a combination of a lot of veggies.  I like to buy shredded carrots and cabbage for mine, spinach, frozen broccoli, frozen peas, if I have celery I'll chop that in...chicken if you roll it in corn starch first gets a lovely glaze  serve over rice or throw the rice into the mix.  The trick with multiple veggies is to choose those that you like and combine them for color and flavor, also the cooking time will vary between veggies so you might want to precook some and then throw them all in together at the last moment.

Since you're just starting, I'd start with something simple, like broccoli and shredded carrots with chicken over rice.  Make sure you use an oil (I love toasted sesame) that is rated for high heat.  If you buy frozen broccoli it will already be cut which helps with the prep work.  Shredded carrots will cook much faster than sliced carrots and again the prep work is minimal.

I've also just bought a bag of mixed veggies that looked interesting and tried those, but I prefer to pick and choose.

Stir fry sauces, all made with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch stirred into the cold ingredients.  After your veggies and such are stir fried to your satisfaction, quickly stir in the sauce and stir to let it thicken and become glossy.  Yum!

Asian - minced fresh ginger and garlic, soy sauce, a few drops of sesame oil, about 1/4 cup of broth or water.

Sweet & Sour - 1/4 cup orange or pineapple juice, 1 tablespoon rice or cider vinegar, soy sauce to taste if desired, or just a pinch of salt.

Italian - 1/4 cup red wine, crushed clove of garlic, pinch of dry oregano or some fresh basil

French - 1/4 cup white wine, sprig of thyme leaves, minced, crushed clove of garlic

All American BBQ style - 1/4 cup fruit juice, a couple tablespoons of BBQ sauce, hot sauce to taste.

Sauces, I usually never go wrong with some oyster sauce, soy sauce and a little bit of sugar. Works with almost everything!

But I love diced chicken with some brocolli or cauliflowers.. Even potatoes work well with the dish, makes a really savoury kind of meal. Serve hot with rice, perfect.

When it comes sauces, you can`t go wrong with tomatoes, pumpkin, zucchini, eggplant, and some red pepper and/or onion and/or garlic (they provide very pleasant flavours).

Tomato sauce: (serves 1 or 2, depending on how saucy you like your dish to be)

10 oz canned tomatoes or fresh ones, peeled and boiled

1 small red pepper, diced

1 garlic bulb

2 oz mushrooms, diced

1 tbsp olive oil

sage, basil, salt (or any combo of seasonings), to taste

Preparation:

In a medium non-stick pan heat up the oil. Cut off the bottom of the garlic bulb and place it whole, cut part down, in the pan. Keep it there for the whole duration of the sauce preparation and remove it at the end (that way it will leave a good dose of flavour, not too weak or too strong).

Stir fry the chopped pepper and mushrooms, with a bit of sauce, until cooked through. When done, add the tomatoes, and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes, constantly stirring with a wooden spatula.

In the end, add the seasonings, mix them in, and serve hot over pasta.

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Spicy eggplant and zucchini sauce: (serves 4)

1 eggplant

1 zucchini

4-5 tomatoes

1 red pepper + 1 yellow pepper (or 2 red)

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp hot sauce

1 tbsp red chilli powder (or 1 finely chopped fresh chilli pepper)

2 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Preparation:

Peel, wash and chop the eggplant and zucchini into thin dice-sized slices. Sprinkle with salt and leave to rest.

Finely chop the peppers and peel and blend the tomatoes.

Heat oil in non-stick pan and add eggplant and zucchini. Stir for a bit, then cover and leave for 5 minutes.

Mince the garlic and add to pan, along with the peppers. Stir fry for 5 minutes.

Add in the spicy sauce and chilli, and tomato paste.

Cook for about 10 minutes and serve hot over pasta.
 

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Sweet and spicy red pepper sauce: (serves 1)

2 red peppers, coarsely diced

2 tbsp hot sauce

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup water

1 small onion, minced

Preparation:

Heat up oil in small non-stick pan and stir fry the peppers and onion, for about 3-4 minutes. Add in hot sauce and water, cover and cook for a few minutes, until pepper are done. Transfer to blender and make into a sauce. Serve hot over pasta.

A couple other recipes are here and here. (I typed the previous ones by hand because I had to translate them first)

I`m guessing pretty much any of them can be paired up with rice or potatoes just as well. Enjoy!

ily51 ty for those receipes! They sound really good to me!