People often comment that they don’t understand how Joey and I can work together as a married couple and not want to kill each other.
Honestly, 99 percent of the time, we get along really well, both at home and at work.
If there is something that could spell trouble in paradise, though, I’d say it would have to be the one thing we have never been able to agree on: broccoli.
I love it. Joey thinks it makes the house smell like flatulence every time I cook it.
We’ve had to agree to disagree.
But since he was out of the house for a couple days last week, I took full advantage and made this week’s recipe, which features a ton of delicious broccoli, and I have zero regrets about filling our house with the delicious aroma of my favorite veggie.
This comes from the blog “Once Upon a Chef” by Chef Jenn Segal. You can find the original post at https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/chinese-vegetable-stir-fry.html. I added extra garlic and other spices in my version.
Chinese Vegetable Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1 pound broccoli cut into bite-sized pieces
- 8 ounces baby bella or shiitake mushrooms sliced thin and stems removed
- 1 red bell pepper sliced thin
- 4 to 6 cloves garlic minced
- 3 green onions thinly sliced (separate the light and dark parts into two piles)
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
Instructions
- Start by preparing all of the vegetables. Cooking will go quickly, so having everything prepped will make things easier.
- Add the soy sauce, water, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, cornstarch, red pepper flakes and mustard powder to a bowl, and stir to combine well. Set it aside.
- Add about one inch of water to a deep non-stick skillet, and bring it to a boil. Add the broccoli and cook for about three minutes or until it’s just shy of how tender you like it. Drain it, and run cold water over the broccoli so it stops cooking. Set it aside to finish draining.
- If there is any liquid left in the skillet, dry it, and then add the vegetable oil, heating it over medium-high heat.
- Add the mushrooms and red peppers, stirring regularly, and letting them cook for about five minutes or until the peppers are softened.
- Add in the light-colored parts of the onion, the ginger and garlic, and saute for another minute or so, until you can really smell the ginger and garlic.
- Dump in the broccoli and stir to combine the ingredients. Once the broccoli is heated back through, pour in the sauce you prepared earlier, and continue stirring constantly, being sure to coat the vegetables in the sauce.
- Once the sauce thickens to your liking and the vegetables are hot, remove the skillet from the heat and serve immediately, topped with the dark green onions.
- I served mine with lo mein noodles. You could also eat this with rice or just by itself.
This was really yummy. I should have cooked the broccoli just a bit less for the sake of my leftovers, since it was a bit mushy by the time I reheated it, but it was still flavorful and just what I wanted.
Who can complain about a big dish of well-seasoned veggies?
Well, OK, I know one guy, but that’s what he gets for leaving me home alone. You never know what kind of culinary mischief I might get into.
This piece first appeared in print June 12, 2025.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
