Broccoli and cashew stir-fry, vegan and oil-free
Written by Estelle & Alice for The Wok House
The broccoli stalk never ends up in the bin when I make this stir-fry. Peeled and cut into sticks, it goes into the wok a minute before the florets and stays crunchy all the way to the plate. With the toasted cashews and a bowl of quinoa, dinner is ready in half an hour.
This stir-fry is a plant-based take on the chicken and broccoli served in Chinese restaurants in North America. The cashews replace the meat, and tamari replaces regular soy sauce: this Japanese soy sauce contains little or no wheat, and you can find it certified gluten-free. There's no oil in the cooking. A splash of water and the wok lid steam the broccoli, then a sauce thickened with cornflour coats it. Take it off the heat while it's still bright green; if it turns khaki, it has overcooked.
Broccoli and cashew stir-fry with tamari
Broccoli steamed under the lid in a splash of water with onion, garlic and ginger, coated in a tamari and maple syrup sauce thickened with cornflour, then tossed with dry-toasted cashews.
For 3 to 5 people, use a 32cm wok and its lid: the broccoli should fit underneath without being packed down.
Ingredients
For the vegetables
For the sauce
To cook and serve
Equipment
- 32cm wok with a lid, non-stick or well-seasoned carbon steel
- Vegetable peeler for the stalk
- Wooden spatula
- Saucepan and fine sieve for the quinoa
- Small bowl for the sauce
Method
Prepare the vegetables
Cut the florets off the broccoli and trim them into 3cm pieces. Peel the stalk with the vegetable peeler to remove the tough skin, then cut it into sticks 5mm thick and keep them separate. Thinly slice the onion, chop the garlic and grate the ginger.
Mix the sauce
In a bowl, mix 3 tbsp tamari, 80ml water, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 2 tsp rice vinegar and 2 tsp cornflour until there are no lumps left.
Start the quinoa
Rinse 250g quinoa in a fine sieve under cold water, rubbing the grains together: rinsing removes any remaining bitterness. Tip it into a large pan of boiling salted water and give it 12 minutes, while you make the stir-fry. It's cooked when a little white thread comes away around each grain. Drain it and cover.
Toast the cashews
Heat the wok dry over a medium heat. Add 150g cashews and stir constantly for 2 to 3 minutes (4 to 5 minutes if they're raw), until golden and smelling toasted. Tip them into a bowl.
Soften the aromatics in water
Turn the heat up to medium-high. Put the onion in the wok with 2 tbsp water and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, until translucent and soft. If it sticks, add a spoonful of water. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Steam the broccoli under the lid
Add the stalk sticks and stir for 1 minute. Add the florets, pour in 4 tbsp water and put the lid on straight away. Cook for 3 minutes over a high heat without lifting the lid: the broccoli is ready when it's bright green and the tip of a knife goes into a stalk with a little resistance.
Thicken the sauce
Take off the lid. If there's still water in the bottom, let it evaporate for 30 seconds. Stir the sauce (the cornflour settles at the bottom of the bowl), pour it into the centre of the wok and toss for 1 minute: it thickens, turns glossy and coats the florets.
Add the cashews and serve
Off the heat, add the cashews and toss. Scatter over the sesame seeds and serve straight away on the quinoa: if the dish sits, the cashews go soft in the sauce.
Wok tips
- Stir-frying in water needs a wok that doesn't stick: non-stick, or well-seasoned carbon steel. In a new steel wok, the onion sticks and browns on the bottom. In that case, add 1 teaspoon of neutral oil with the first spoonful of water, and season the wok before next time.
- Toast the cashews over a medium heat, stirring all the time. Over a high heat they brown outside while staying pale inside, then go from golden to burnt in less than a minute. Take them out as soon as they're golden: the hot metal keeps cooking them.
- Don't lift the lid during the 3 minutes the broccoli cooks: it's the steam that cooks the stalk. If it starts sizzling before the time is up, the water has evaporated: add a spoonful of water and put the lid back on.
- Pour the sauce into the centre of the wok, onto the hot metal, when there's almost no water left. Poured into a puddle of water, it gets diluted and no longer coats the broccoli.
Variations
- Without tamari: 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce, but it contains wheat and the dish is no longer gluten-free. With coconut aminos, which are milder and less salty, use 4 tablespoons and leave out the maple syrup.
- With tofu: cut 400g firm tofu into 2cm cubes, pat them dry and brown them for 5 minutes in 1 tablespoon of neutral oil after toasting the cashews. Set them aside and add them back at the end with the cashews, of which 80g is then enough.
- More vegetables: keep 80g cashews and add 300g sliced mushrooms, mangetout, pak choi or red pepper strips with the florets. Thinly sliced carrots go in with the stalks.
- More classic: 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil added off the heat, just before the cashews.
Storage
Three days in the fridge in an airtight container, without the cashews: keep them separate, as they go soft in the sauce. Reheat for 2 minutes in the wok over a medium heat with a spoonful of water, then add the cashews just before serving. Reheated broccoli loses a little of its colour and crunch.
Frequently asked questions
How long do you stir-fry broccoli in a wok?
Allow 4 minutes for 3cm florets: 3 minutes under the lid in a splash of water, then 1 minute in the sauce. The stalk, cut into sticks, goes in a minute earlier. The broccoli is ready when it's bright green and a knife goes into the stalk with a little resistance.
Can you stir-fry without oil?
Yes, by using water or stock instead of oil, added a spoonful at a time whenever things start to stick, and covering the wok to steam. You need a non-stick wok or well-seasoned carbon steel. The vegetables don't brown as they would in oil: the onion barely colours, and the flavour comes from the sauce.
Can I use frozen broccoli?
Yes, straight from frozen. Put it in the wok after the aromatics, without water, cover for 3 to 4 minutes, then uncover to let the water it releases evaporate before adding the sauce. It stays less crunchy than fresh broccoli.
Is broccoli with cashews a Chinese dish?
Not as such. It's based on the chicken or beef with broccoli of North American Chinese restaurants, in a plant-based version, with tamari, a soy sauce of Japanese origin, and maple syrup. The technique is that of a wok stir-fry.
