Stir fry is my go-to for quick, healthy dinners. It takes under 30 minutes to prepare a wholesome meal, and it’s endlessly customizable. This version is a stir fry of paneer and mixed vegetables in a homemade teriyaki-style sauce, served with steamed rice. Restaurants near me offer few vegetarian Chinese or Japanese options, so making stir fry at home lets you create exactly what you want—add as many or as few ingredients as you like, and adjust flavors to suit your family.
Summer evenings are long here, and we spend a lot of time outside. On busy days I don’t want to come home and cook an elaborate meal, so quick dishes like this are perfect. My son loves the park by the lake; we often return home late and need something fast and satisfying. A stir fry is ideal: it lets you pack a whole lot of vegetables and protein into one dish, and everyone eats their veggies without much fuss.
Chopping vegetables takes hardly any time—ten minutes at most—so if you know you’ll be short on time, chop a day ahead and store the pieces in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 1–2 days. For this stir fry I used celery, broccoli, carrots, spring onions, sweet corn and zucchini. I added sweet corn and zucchini at the last minute; feel free to swap in whatever you have on hand.
About the teriyaki-style sauce
Teriyaki is common in Asian cooking. The word roughly means “shiny/grilled” because of the sugar-based glaze traditionally used. The sauce tastes sweet from the sugar or sweetener, slightly tangy from the vinegar, and savory from soy sauce. It isn’t spicy by default, but you can add chili sauce or sriracha if you prefer heat.
Our version
Traditional teriyaki often uses sake or mirin (rice wines), but this recipe is alcohol-free and family-friendly. Instead of brown sugar, I sometimes use a dates (khajoor) paste for natural sweetness—dates add fiber and nutrients, and brown sugar, raw sugar or honey are fine alternatives. I use rice flour as a thickener, though cornstarch works well too.
Why make your own?
Store-bought sauces are convenient, but making your own teriyaki-style sauce takes only a few minutes and lets you control sweetness, salt and spice. Homemade sauce can be tweaked to be lighter, less salty or sweeter depending on your taste. It’s also more economical and fresher-tasting.
Stir Fry: Paneer & Veggies in Teriyaki Sauce
Quick summary: A fast, adaptable weeknight stir fry—serve with steamed brown or white rice, or with lightly tossed noodles. Easily veganized by using firm pressed tofu instead of paneer.
Recipe details
Course: Stir fry / rice / noodles
Cuisine: Asian
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Author: Khushboo
Ingredients
- For the teriyaki-style sauce
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup water, divided
- 1 tablespoon dates paste (khajoor) or brown sugar, raw sugar or honey
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (mirin is traditional)
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon grated garlic (optional)
- 1 teaspoon chili sauce or sriracha (adjust to taste)
- Dash of black pepper
- 1 tablespoon rice flour (or cornstarch) to thicken
- For the stir fry
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1½ cups assorted diced/chopped vegetables (I used celery, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, spring onions and sweet corn)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
- ½ cup cubed paneer (or firm pressed tofu for a vegan version)
- 2 teaspoons green or red chili sauce (adjust to your spice level)
Instructions
- Make the sauce: In a small saucepan, combine the soy sauce, most of the water (reserve about ¼ cup), dates paste (or chosen sweetener), rice vinegar, grated ginger, garlic (if using), chili sauce and a dash of black pepper. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer.
- In a small bowl, whisk the rice flour (or cornstarch) with the reserved ¼ cup water to form a smooth paste. When the sauce is simmering, add the paste and stir until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust sweetness, acidity or spice as needed. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Stir fry the vegetables: Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the chopped fresh garlic and sauté briefly (about 10 seconds) until fragrant.
- Add broccoli and carrots first and sauté for about 1 minute, then add the remaining vegetables (except the green part of the spring onions) and continue to sauté for another minute. Keep the vegetables crisp-tender—stir fries should be cooked quickly on high heat.
- Add the chili sauce, then pour in the prepared teriyaki-style sauce. Stir to combine and raise the heat to medium-high to bring the sauce to a simmer. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of water; it will thicken more as it cools.
- Add the paneer (or tofu) and toss gently to coat. Taste and add salt only if needed, since soy sauce adds saltiness.
- Garnish with the green part of the spring onions and serve hot with steamed rice or noodles.
Notes & tips
– Stir fries are cooked on high heat, so keep an eye on the vegetables to avoid overcooking or burning. Aim for crisp-tender vegetables.
– Cornstarch is commonly used to thicken teriyaki sauce, but rice flour works equally well.
– I sometimes use dates instead of sugar or honey for natural sweetness. Brown sugar, raw sugar or honey are all fine alternatives.
– Use any mix of vegetables you like—bell peppers, snap peas, mushrooms or baby corn work well.
– The sauce can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. If you’re adding the sauce directly while stir frying, you can simply whisk the sauce ingredients in a bowl and pour it over the vegetables after sautéing.
– To make this dish vegan, replace paneer with firm pressed tofu and use a vegan sweetener if desired.
Highlights: quick, easy, delicious and wholesome. I hope you love this stir fry as much as we do. Happy cooking!
