Broccoli and Mushroom Stir-Fry | Healthy Stir-Fry Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Should you cook broccoli before stir-frying? ›

Blanch vegetables before stir-fry

Blanching destroys the enzymes that turn green veggies brown and mushy over time or with cooking. This makes it perfect for preparing ingredients for recipes that rely on the bright green color.

Stir-frying and stir-frying/boiling, the two most popular methods for most homemade dishes in China, cause great losses of chlorophyll, soluble protein, soluble sugar, vitamin C, and glucosinolates, but the steaming method appears the best in retention of the nutrients in cooking broccoli.

Stir-fry onions first, then add hard vegetables such as carrot and broccoli. Quick-cooking vegetables, such as snow peas, leafy greens and bean sprouts, should be added towards the end of cooking. If using vegies that have a combination of both textures, such as gai laan, add the stems first and the leaves later.

Ginger root is one of the most popular spices used in stir frys. Its spicy zing can really enhance any stir fry, whether you're cooking with vegetables, meat or fish. Ginger also provides health benefits such as relieving nausea, enhancing the immune system and aiding digestion.

The first is to cook your protein and your vegetable separately, and combine them only after both are fully cooked. A second rule of thumb for stir-frying: Choose one vegetable per stir-fry. Finally, always remember to add liquid only after everything is more or less finished cooking.

Soy sauce, sesame oil, a bit of vinegar, or store-bought stir-fry sauces are easy to add to the dish and most stir-fry recipes will include a suggested mixture of liquid. If you don't really have a sauce planned, a bit of bottled soy sauce and some diced garlic or ginger will make a nice basic stir-fry sauce.

The Best Oil for Stir Fry: Avocado Oil

Peanut, soybean, and refined sesame oils can be good choices since they have high smoke points and pack a flavor punch.

So many different oils, the good news is you can stick with what you know – canola is great! The best oils for stir frys are the oils with the higher smoke points. These tend to be the “thinner” oils such as peanut, grapeseed or canola.

What is the healthiest way to eat broccoli? ›

Serving broccoli raw is an excellent option, since it retains these nutrients and the enzyme that forms isothiocyanate compounds. Before serving on a relish tray or salad, quickly blanching and cooling allows you to get even a bit more of these compounds.

Finally, always remember to add liquid only after everything is more or less finished cooking. A proper sauce for stir-fries combines something salty—soy sauce, usually, though fish sauce also works—with something a little bit sweet.

Dry the vegetables.

When stir-frying anything from snow peas to lettuce, it's important that the vegetables are very dry. Otherwise, the vegetables will steam and braise in the pan and lose their crisp texture.

Traditional stir-fries are cooked in a small amount of oil, but you can easily use water or broth instead. Water can also be used to safely preheat a nonstick wok or pan—see below for instructions.

Broccoli can be eaten raw, but blanching it quickly in boiling water helps give it a more crisp-tender texture and bring out its flavor. Broccoli can also be steamed, sautéed, and roasted. You could even throw long spears on the grill!

Once the oil begins to smoke, add the broccoli florets and stems.

To boil, place in a pan of boiling water and cook the florets for 6-8 minutes. To steam, place in a steamer over boiling water and cook for 6-8 minutes. Broccoli to be stir-fried should be separated into bite-sized florets, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan and add the florets, cook for 4-5 minutes or until tender.