How To Saute/Stir-Fry
Stir-frying is another quick and nutritious way to prepare vegetables. You can stir-fry in oil or in water. Stir- frying in oil makes a tastier dish, since the hot oil seals in the flavor. You can use any kind of vegetable. The softer vegetables, like Chinese cabbage, bok choy, thinly sliced carrots, mushrooms, and onions, will only take a few minutes to cook.
Before you start, have all of the vegetables cut into pieces. Thinner slices and smaller pieces will cook faster and more evenly.
If you choose to use oil, heat a wok or a frying pan, and add a small amount of oil, such as avocado, ghee or coconut oil. If you are making a small amount of vegetables, brushing the wok or pan with oil is usually enough. Start with the harder vegetables, like roots. Add one variety at a time, and cook them until they become shiny before adding the next bunch. Sprinkling a pinch of sea salt over the vegetables draws just enough moisture to prevent sticking and makes them taste sweeter. You can also sprinkle water over your vegetables to gain extra steam and heat.
If you choose to sauté with water, add 1 inch of water to your wok or pan, and bring to boil. Add thinly sliced vegetables, cover, and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
At the end of cooking, you can make a nice sauce, thickened with arrowroot or kudzu, and seasoned with soy sauce, ginger, or garlic.
For vegetable and meat combination meals, some recipes will have the meat added first as it takes longer to cook the meat than the vegetables.
For fish or seafood, the vegetables are cooked first and removed, and then the fish is added to be cooked. Just before serving, the vegetables are usually returned to the pan to be reheated and covered with what seasoning or sauce is in the pan.
White Fish & Vegetable Saute
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cups red bell pepper strips cut into strips about 2 inches long
- 2 cups sliced zucchini about 1/4 inch thick
- 2 cups asparagus pieces 1–2 inches long
- 1 lb white fish such as halibut or cod cut into 4 pieces, 454 g
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper optional
- 3 tbsp avocado oil divided
- 4 cups spinach
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 4 tbsp fresh cilantro loosely chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables and place on a plate. Make sure they are dry.
- Prepare the fish by brushing both sides with some olive oil. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and pepper.
- Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat for one minute. Add the cumin and cayenne as the pan is heating up to bring out the flavour of the spices.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil and the onion. Cook the onion until it’s slightly translucent.
- Add the peppers, zucchini, and asparagus. Sauté for 4–5 minutes until vegetables are soft. Be sure to stir the vegetables so they do not stick. If vegetables do stick, add a little water.
- Add the spinach and allow it to wilt.
- Transfer the vegetables to a dish and cover to keep warm. They can be seasoned with sea salt and pepper at this time.
- Return the frying pan to the heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Place each piece of fish into the pan, spacing equally in the pan.
- Cook on one side for 2–3 minutes. Flip over and cook on the other side for another 2-3 minutes or until the fish flakes with a fork.
- Place the vegetables on a plate and add the fish. Drizzle with lime juice and sprinkle cilantro on top of the fish and vegetables. Season with sea salt and pepper if needed.