2013 – Gluten Free Living

This gluten free stir fry was so fabulous — it was probably the best I’ve ever made. The taste was spectacular. A lot of times I just season stir fry recipes with lots of herbs. This time I hunted for a sauce and found one that with some improvisation was fantastic!

I found the recipe online here, but I’ve adapted this adaptation of Martin Yan’s All Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce (Brown Garlic Sauce). Many of the reviewers thought the original amounts of soy sauce caused the online version to be too salty. I’ve reduced that by halving the amount of soy sauce and using Tamari – a gluten free low sodium soy sauce. I also changed the rice wine for a reduced amount of rice wine vinegar. Additionally, I substituted honey for the sugar in the recipe. The sauce turned out so perfectly. I will make this recipe again and again it is so good.

You can really use just about any vegetable or meat you want to use. The sauce has just enough sweetness and just enough tartness and just enough savory flavoring to make it exceptional. In fact, the sauce makes the whole recipe. I’ve also given directions for making the rice by soaking the grain first to release the phytates and make it more easily digestible for anyone with digestive issues.

So here’s a delicious gluten free recipe for those of you who suffer with gluten intolerance. Or, if you are just trying to eat healthier and lose some weight you will also enjoy this great stir fry. It’s the perfect recipe for you because it’s rich in flavor but low in calories.  Tasty, delicious, amazing. Give this fantastic recipe a try sometime. You will be so glad you did.

Here’s a look at this delicious stir fry.

Here the stir fry is portioned out over a bed of rice.

The delicious ginger and sesame sauce is so amazing.

Look at how plump this rice is. When you soak it a few hours before cooking it comes out some much plumper and tastier than if you don’t pre-soak the rice.

Here’s a close up so you can see the texture.

Here’s one last look so you can be tantalized by the incredible look of this tasty stir fry.

Here’s what I did.

I use a good quality brown rice. I purchased this in a Korean grocery store since most of the regular grocery stores around here don’t carry anything but cheap rice stripped of all it’s nutrients.

I’ve placed 2 cups of rice in a large bowl and filled it with water. I let the rice soak about 3 1/2 hours before I needed to cook it for dinner.

Place coconut oil in a large Dutch oven.

Add carrot chips or sliced carrots. (I love the texture of these so that’s why I usually use these).

Add sugar snap peas.

Add zucchini.

Add yellow squash.

Add cauliflower florets.

Add celery.

Add an orange bell pepper.

Add a yellow bell pepper. Add a red bell pepper too if you want more color.

Add mushrooms. (Sorry, these had been cooking awhile before I snapped the picture).

Add broccoli florets.

Add green beans.

Add red onion. Saute vegetables until they are almost cooked through all the way.

Add chicken. I used about half of a leftover rotisserie (gluten free) chicken here. Omit chicken entirely if you’re vegan or vegetarian.

Make ginger sesame sauce. I used a gluten free reduced sodium soy sauce rather than a regular soy sauce. I also reduced the amount from the original recipe by half because some reviewers said it tasted too salty. All I can say is that with the changes I made, the sauce turned out fabulously.

Pour soy sauce into bowl.

Add chicken broth. Use vegetable broth if you are vegan or vegetarian.

Add rice wine vinegar and sesame oil.

Add honey. I replaced the sugar with honey since I’m trying to eliminate as much sugar in my diet as possible. Honey doesn’t seem to affect my body in the same way.

Add white pepper.

In a separate bowl place cornstarch.

Add water.

Whisk cornstarch and water together.

Place olive oil or coconut oil in sauce pan and heat to high heat.

Add garlic.

Fry over high heat for about 15 seconds.

Add ginger. I would have used fresh ginger if I could have found it in the store the other day but they were cleaned out. So I substituted dried ginger instead.

Stir over high heat until ginger is fragrant – about 15 seconds. Reduce heat to medium.

Add soy sauce mixture. Cook and stir a few minutes at medium heat until mixture thickens.

Add cornstarch mixture and combine with soy sauce mixture. Cook a few minutes at low to medium heat until sauce thickens.

Pour ginger sesame sauce over top of stir fry vegetables in large saute pan.

Here’s another look at the stir fry mixture.

Here’s a picture of what the rice looked like. I drained the rice, put it in a stock pot with 6 cups of fresh water. I brought the rice water mixture to a boil. Then, I reduced the heat to simmer over medium heat and cooked the rice about 25-30 minutes or until the water was completely absorbed.

Here’s a look at the rice and stir fry ready to serve.

I mounded the rice on my plate. 

Here’s a close up of the rice. It’s thick, plump, so tasty and so much healthier than white rice that has been overly refined.

Here’s one more look at the ice.

In this picture you can see the ginger sesame sauce that I added to the stir fry. What a fabulous sauce!

Here the rice and stir fry are served on our plates.

Here’s a close up look of the texture of this delicious gluten free dish.

Here’s another view of the stir fry on our plates.

Lots of healthy vegetables over a bed of cooked, pre-soaked rice. Extremely healthy.

I used up leftover rotisserie chicken in this recipe. It was so wonderful.

You can see the glaze of the sauce on the vegetables. It was amazing.

Here’s the recipe.

CHICKEN AND GREEN BEAN STIR FRY WITH  GINGER SESAME SAUCE

(My own concoction)

½ cup carrot chips

½ cup sliced zucchini

½ cup sliced yellow squash

½ cup sliced celery

½ cup cauliflower florets

½ cup broccoli florets

½ cup Sugar Snap Peas

1 orange bell pepper, cut in strips

1 yellow bell pepper, cut in strips (Add a red bell pepper if you want more color)

8-oz. sliced mushrooms

2 cups green beans, washed, ends trimmed

½ red onion, cut in strips

2 cups cooked chicken or turkey, cubed (I used leftover rotisserie chicken)

3-4 tbsp. coconut oil

Ginger Sesame Stir Fry Sauce (recipe below)

2 cups brown rice, soaked, and cooked with 6 cups of water

Place coconut oil in large Dutch oven or sauté pan. Add carrots and cook about a minute on a medium heat. Add zucchini, yellow squash, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, sugar snap peas, and beans. Sauté about 5 minutes before adding peppers, mushrooms, and onions. Cover with lid and sauté until over low to medium heat until vegetables are almost cooked through. Add chicken. Stir into stir fry mixture. Add ginger sesame stir fry sauce and heat through. Serve over prepared rice.

To prepare rice: I used a high quality Korean brown rice. Measure 2 cups of rice into colander. Rinse through a few times. Place rice in bowl and cover completely with water. Let rice sit on counter for at least an hour – 3 or 4 is even better. When ready to cook, drain rice in colander. Place rice in stockpot with 6 cups of fresh water. Bring heat to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook about 25-30 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Turn off heat. Fluff rice. Cover and set aside until ready to serve.

GINGER SESAME STIR FRY SAUCE

(Recipe adapted from Connie K. at Food.com; source: Martin Yan: Chinese Cooking for Dummies)

1/3 cup Tamari gluten free reduced sodium soy sauce

¾ cup chicken (or vegetable) broth

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

3 ½ tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. sesame oil

¼ tsp. white pepper

2 tbsp. olive or coconut oil

1 tbsp. minced garlic from a jar

1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger (I used 1 tsp. dry ginger)

2 tbsp. cornstarch

¼ cup water

In a bowl combine soy sauce, chicken (or vegetable) broth, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, white pepper, and honey. Dissolve the cornstarch in ¼ cup water. Heat a pan over high heat, add the cooking oil swirling to coat. Add garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring until fragrant about 15 seconds. Add soy sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook 1 minute. Add the cornstarch solution and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens about 3-5 minutes. There’s plenty of sauce for this recipe. 6 servings.

You and your family will love this tasty recipe.

We will be making this recipe a lot. It’s absolutely spectacular.

We loved all the veggies in this stir fry. It’s so healthy and low calorie. I couldn’t even eat my portion because it was so filling.

If you’re looking for healthy, low calorie, gluten free recipes you ought to consider this great recipe. It’s fantastic.

You may also like these healthy stir fry recipes:

Cabbage Stir Fry

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry over Spaghetti Squash

Golden Beets Stir Fry

White and Sweet Potato Scramble with Fresh Herbs

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