Base Flavorings

Just some samples of base ingredients that I use when I stir-fry veggies. Get a feeling for what I use and why I use it, and experiment with the spices or ingredients that you like.

Garlic

Garlic tastes great, when would you not use it? Never. Except when cooking something like garlic chives, which already has a garlicky flavor. So the answer is still never. If you disagree, stop reading and go home.

Ginger

I almost never do this because I'm lazy, and I like to use ginger for meat applications more than veggie applications. But it's totally reasonable to add a light refreshing difference to the stir-fry.

Spices

Most often I'll only use some chili flakes for heat, or some crushed sichuan peppercorns for a floral, citrus note, but not enough to make the resulting dish numbing. Other spices are totally viable too, experiment with it!

Dried shrimp

This has a ton of umami, it's fantastic. I use it for veggies that don't have a lot of flavor on their own and need an extra boost. Or just to add extra complexity.

Fermented black beans

This has a funkiness, and complements umami ingredients very well. I'll often use it with the dried shrimp. It can be a little salty, so probably use less salt later.

zha cai (榨菜)

This is a pickled mustard green. It adds some funkiness and umami to the dish. It's almost like a cheat code because it already tastes pretty good on its own, and adds that special something to the veggie.

Sauces

Don't you already have another article for sauces? Yea, but these sauces are a little different. I often get things like some sort of chili crisp, chili paste, broad bean paste, or other similar Chinese flavorings. It helps to add these kinds of sauces as a base ingredient to help bring out the flavors. If zha cai was a cheat code, this is like exodia, since it'll do all the heavy lifting in the stir-fry.