Vegetable Stir Fry with Hoisin Sauce

I was getting tired of the same old stir fry and decided it was time to venture out a bit. In the past, I've come across stir fry recipes with hoisin sauce in them, but was reluctant to try it because it sounded "too different." That was until I asked a friend who said he had used it and found it to be to his liking (thanks Mark). So tonight I decided to try it out on my family. The result.....they liked it! Stephe gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars and Kyle gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Kyle's suggestion for next time was to put it over noodles instead of rice. So next time, noodles it is. With all the fresh vegetables available this time of year, simply choose your favorites and go for it. The possibilities are endless.

Vegetable Stir Fry with Hoisin Sauce:

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. hoisin sauce (found in the asian food section of grocery store - even Walmart has it)

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

2 Tbsp. agave nectar (or honey)

3/4 c. vegetable broth

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

1 Tbsp. corn starch

1 onion, or 4-5 green onions, chopped

4 cups of vegetables of your choice (zucchini, peppers, summer squash, mushrooms, broccoli, etc)

To prepare:

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine all of the ingredients, except the vegetables. Let the mixture simmer about 5-7 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Then remove it from the heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, you should have your rice or noodles cooking.

When your rice/pasta is about 5 minutes from being done it is time to cook the veggies.

In a large skillet (or wok if you have one), over high heat add 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 Tbsp sesame oil and add your vegetables. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Then, add the hoisin sauce mixture over the vegetables and stir to coat. Let cook for another 2-3 minutes until veggies are cooked, but not overcooked. (Nothing worse than mushy stir fry veggies).

If you are going to make this with noodles, I would suggest adding your al dente noodles into the veggies and sauce, stir to coat the noodles, and serve. Yummy! I can't wait to make this again :)

Happy cooking!