Spicy Teriyaki Stir Fry

Tonight was one of those Seattle spring evenings where the sun came out and everyone was outside enjoying the freshness. It was nice feeling the warm sun on my back while gliding up the hill. What with the sun out, I didn't consider the dinner menu until opening the refrigerator to take inventory.

I had a lot of rich food this past weekend. Happy hour #1 on Friday was Caesar salad and sweet potato fries while sitting outside, followed by happy hour #2 with truffle popcorn, Triscuits layered with raspberry jam and brie, olives, and marinated artichoke hearts. Saturday was kale and mushroom frittata and multiple cups of coffee for breakfast, and then a piece of pizza and sauteed kale for lunch. I took a trip to Ikea in the afternoon and had to fuel up with frozen yogurt before shopping. Then dinner was roasted vegetable pizza appetizer, pan-fried chicken, mashed potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts. Sunday I pulled some frozen rice from the freezer, to slowly realize, while making fried rice, that it was actually barley. So I had fried barley with carrots and mushrooms for breakfast. Roasted cauliflower and eggplant were lunch. And dinner was Mad Men party food with celery stuffed with cream cheese and nuts, deviled eggs, olives coated in garlic powder, and avocado 'dunk'. There was a dash of red wine here and there, a few swear words while assembling Ikea furniture, pacing, deep breaths, and a plethora of Soda Stream water.

It is quite interesting to see my entire weekend's food typed out like this. It also explains the fullness factor today. So a light vegetable stir fry for dinner was in order for balancing things out.

Spicy Teriyaki Stir Fry
Yields 1-2 servings

You can use any variety of vegetables for the stir fry. The great aspect of stir frying is using vegetables already existing in the refrigerator or freezer. I happen to have a lot of zucchini and frozen Asian-style vegetables today, so I used those. But feel free to use what you have.

1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Red pepper flakes to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups vegetables

Whisk garlic, soy sauce, water, mustard, chili sauce, hoisin sauce, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes together in a small bowl to make the sauce. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the vegetables until tender. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and stir until coated. Heat for 1 to 2 minutes to slightly evaporate the liquid. Remove from heat. Eat!