Level of Effort: Easy
Cost of Ingredients: $5.60 for 3 helpings
Nutrition Info per 1 helping: calories 270, 5.6 g fat, 8 g protein, 5.9 g fiber, 50 g carbs

I was doing a cooking 101 event at a local college when I noticed something out of the ordinary.

A student, who had volunteered to prepare one of the recipes, had begun to chop the vegetables for the dish we were making AND was doing it with ease.

I took notice because I don’t often see that at my college events. Most of the students I cook with struggle with chopping?

Why?

Well, for most, no one has taken the time to show them how to use a chefs knife.

When you’re in that boat, chopping takes forever and feels like every stroke of the knife is going to endanger one of your fingers? Not a good feeling.

Let’s Remove the Chopping

What if we took the chopping out of the picture? And, what if we did it for the most chop intensive recipe? The stir-fry.

We can easily accomplish this by using frozen vegetables. I love frozen vegetables because they’re already chopped. I hate them because they don’t stay crisp like fresh vegetables when cooked.

A good stir fry needs some crispness, so an easy fix is to toss in some fresh and crispy (chop-free) ingredients – like snow peas and canned water chestnuts – along with the frozen veggies.

The combination gives this flavorful chop-free stir-fry a crispy texture without having to reach for a knife! (#winning)!

Chop-Free Teriyaki Vegetable Stir-Fry
A sweet and spicy vegetable stir-fry prepared without lifting a knife

Printable Recipe

MAKES: 3 servings

Prep Time: 4 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce [$0.50]
• 1 clove minced garlic (use a garlic press) [$0.02]
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger or ½ tsp ground ginger [$0.05]
• 2 tsp liquid honey [$0.08]
• Pinch red pepper flakes or dash of hot sauce (optional) [$0.00]
  
• 1 tbsp peanut oil or vegetable oil [$0.08]
• 1 bag (400 g / 14 oz) frozen stir-fry medley vegetables [$2.99]
• Dash each of salt and pepper [$0.00]
• 1 cup snow peas [$0.99]
• 1 can (218 ml / 8 oz) sliced water chestnuts [$0.89] 

HOW TO MAKE

1. Stir together teriyaki sauce, garlic, ginger, honey and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet or wok.
3. Add frozen vegetables to wok and season with salt and pepper.  
4. Cook, stirring only a couple times (or else it’ll get watery), until vegetables are thawed and cooked (about 5 minutes). Remove wok from heat.
5. Add snow peas, water chestnuts and sauce to wok. Toss to coat vegetables with sauce.
6. Serve over cooked rice or noodles. 

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Thanks for stopping in at the cafe. Cheers!