No Oil Spring Stir Fry
INGREDIENTS
- 6oz of Tempeh
- 6 medium/large shiitake mushrooms
- 2 cups spring peas
- 1 leek (you can sub 1 small white onion as an option)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced (you can also sub 2 teaspoons of dried minced garlic)
- 2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon of red chili powder (if you like stuff hot, go for 1/4 teaspoon)
DIRECTIONS
Start with the Tempeh (great source of protein) by removing it from its package and setting it in a shallow bowl. Pour the two tablespoons of soy sauce over it. The tempeh will soak this up. Sprinkle the red chili powder over that. Once the tempeh has pretty much soaked up the soy sauce, cut it into chunks (about 1/2″ x 1/2″).
If you’re using fresh garlic, go ahead and mince that (here’s a video on how to mince if you need). With the shiitake mushrooms, remove the stems and then cut the caps into thin (1/4″) strips. With the spring peas, if they’re large, just chop them in half. With the leek, slice it into thin (1/8″) slices (go below the darker green leaves) and if you’re doing the onion, just chop that.
Get a frying pan out and add 1/2 cup of water and the minced garlic. Turn the burner on to medium-high heat. Give it a minute to heat up and then add the peas, leeks (or onion) and shiitake. Instead of using hot oil like a traditional stir fry, we’re using hot water to do the cooking. Sometimes I’ll also just sprinkle a little bit of soy sauce over the vegetables so that a little more flavor is cooked in. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on the water as it will evaporate off while cooking. I’d give it about 8 minutes cooking time then throw in the Tempeh. Stir and cook this for an additional 6 minutes.
If you’re used to regular stir-fry made with a lot of oil, this may seem much “lighter”, but give it a try. If you really do want to add a little bit of oil, try drizzling some over the mixture right before you dish it out. This can be a better option, especially with something like olive oil that does not do well with high temperatures (pretty much negates all the healthy benefits).
Makes 2 servings.