STIR-FRY VEGETABLES WITH SCRAMBLED EGGS & BLACK QUINOA
- The Honest Project
- Feb 9, 2017
- 3 min read
Stir-fry vegetables isn’t the most exciting or ground breaking dinner, nor is it particularly on trend as far as food trends go. Truth be told, up until now a stir-fry didn’t really excite me and I rarely looked forward to making them. Rather they were my ‘go to’ dinner when I want to clear out my vegetable basket and couldn’t think of anything else to cook.
In an effort to change my mindset about stir-frys and make them a little more interesting, I added some simple additions to my basic vegetable stir-fry recipe with the unexpected result that it has now gone from being a default dinner to one that I look forward to making and eating.
The key difference to my stir-frys now is the simply addition of beaten eggs at the end. Just lower the heat right down, add the eggs and allow them to scramble amongst the vegetables. This isn’t anything ground breaking; in fact lots of you might already do this, but it’s new to me and I love it. Not only does it add protein to my stir fry, it tastes so good.
I serve this stir fry with black quinoa instead of rice. This adds even more protein to the dish, making it a vegetarian’s dream. I like black quinoa with this dish as it’s slightly crunchier than white and I also think the colour looks good; I admit, I’m always thinking of the photo opp. But the differences between the different coloured quinoa is so subtle, you can use whatever one you have to hand. I usually batch cook quinoa in advance and keep it in a container in the fridge for adding to salads or dishes like this one. It’s a good time saver for days when the hustle of life means cooking from scratch is more of a challenge.
Some smaller additions also combine to make a difference to the end dish. The addition of toasted sesame seeds at the end for crunch and a nutty flavour. Adding fresh ginger and garlic makes a huge difference to the end result. I also use a chilli flavoured soy sauce from Fused by Fiona Uyema which adds a beautiful heat to the dish without it being in any way over powering.
One of the things stir-frys have going for them is that they are really easy and quick to make and they are good all year round; just add whatever vegetables are in season at a particular time. With these tasty additions, I’ve a new-found love for this simple dish.
Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side.
Ingredients
¼ cup black quinoa
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 white onion
1 carrot
1 cup of green beans
Half a red pepper, chopped
Stalk of broccoli and 4 florets
3 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 eggs
1 tbsp sesame seeds, dry toasted
Method
To cook the quinoa, rinse it well in a fine sieve. Place it in a medium size saucepan and add a cup of boiling water. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until the quinoa is fluffy and most of the water has been absorbed. Drain off any excess water.
Prepare the vegetables before you start cooking the stir fry. Peel the onion and slice it into thin slices. Wash the carrot and slice it into thin slices. Wash and trim the beans and cut them into 1 inch pieces. De-seed the red pepper and cut it into thin slices. Remove the rough outer skin of the broccoli stalk and cut the stalk into thin slices. Cut the florets in half. Mince the garlic and ginger.
Heat the coconut oil in a wok over a medium to high wok. Add the onion and cook for three minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and cook for a further five minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a further two minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add two tablespoons of soy sauce.
Beat three eggs in a cup and pour the beaten eggs evenly over the stir fry vegetables. Mix well and cook the egg on the pan for 1-2 minutes or until it scrambles. Remove from the heat and stir in the black quinoa.
Serve in bowls topped with toasted sesame seeds.