Veggie Stir-Fry

•  1/2 cup Reduced Sodium Tamari
• 4 tbs honey or maple syrup
• 4 tsp arrowroot starch or corn starch
• 2 tbs fresh ginger, minced
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• ½-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Veggies & Other Ingredients:

• 2 tbs grapeseed oil or your cooking oil of choice
• 1 red onion, root and tip ends removed and cut into ¼-inch thick wedges
• 2 cups carrots, peeled and cut into very thin rounds
• 1 bunch (1 pound) thin asparagus, tough ends removed and cut into 2-inch long pieces
• 8 oz seitan, cut into bite-size pieces (optional)
• Pinch of salt
• Brown basmati coconut rice*

Directions:

Stir-Fry Sauce:

1. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, honey, cornstarch, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. Whisk until blended and set aside. (I add the ginger to a small food processor and chop, then add the garlic and chop, then add all other ingredients and pulse until blended.)

Veggie Stir-Fry:

1. Warm the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and carrots and a pinch of salt. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring every 30 seconds or so, until the onions have softened, about 4 to 5 minutes. (If at any point you catch a whiff of something burning while making this stir-fry, lower the heat.)
2. Add the asparagus and seitan and cook, stirring every 30 seconds, until the carrots are starting to caramelize on the edges and are easily pierced by a fork, about 3 minutes.
3. Pour in the prepared sauce and cook, while stirring constantly, until the sauce has thickened to your liking, about 30 to 60 seconds.
4. Remove from heat and serve as a side dish as-is, or turn it into a main dish by serving it with brown rice or brown basmati coconut rice*.

*Brown Basmati Coconut Rice: Follow instructions on bag of brown basmati rice and replace 15 oz. of water with (1) 15 .oz can of premium coconut milk.