This recipe is a great one for your leftover cranberries that might be in the fridge or freezer after the holidays (it also makes a fantastic holiday side dish if it’s the season!). I purchased way too many bags of cranberries, and have been left with more than I care to admit on hand. So looking for a way to use them up, I thought I’d try making a stir fry with some and it worked out perfectly. It’s colorful, and tangy! The first time I tried this it was too tart and tangy, but with a bit of maple syrup (or stevia), you can balance it out to deliciousness.
Note: I have added “making this recipe” photos just after the recipe in this post.
Because cranberries have enough pectin to thicken into a sauce, you will find this sauce sticks to the vegetables so nicely and doesn’t run all over the place.
The combination of the cranberries and lemon along with the slight sweetness almost gives this one a sweet and sour flavor.
And of course, you don’t need a bit of oil either. If you keep stirring the vegetables as they cook, nothing will stick to the pan. I am using Shanghai Bok Choy in this recipe, but you can use baby bok choy, or another similar leafy green. Whatever will hold up to the heat of a stir fry well should taste good.
Spicy Cranberry Mushroom Bok Choy Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 4 cups bok choy washed, and cut as preferred
- 2 cups mushrooms sliced, any type
- 1 1/2 cups cranberry fresh or frozen and thawed
SAUCE
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp coconut aminos or sub soy sauce, tamari, or liquid aminos
- 1 Tbsp ginger minced
- 1 Tbsp garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp sriracha Or chili garlic sauce
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup for sugar-free sub 1/4 tsp pure leaf stevia extract or similar
- 1 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Whisk together all of the ingredients listed under "Sauce", and add it to a pan on the stovetop set to medium-high heat.
- Add the cranberries and let cook for a few minutes until they start to pop and the sauce starts bubbling.
- Add the mushrooms and cook until they are soft and the sauce starts to turn slightly pink in color and thickens (the cranberries will release pectin).
- Add the bok choy leaves to the pan, and stir until they are wilted and warm.
- Recommend serving with rice.
Notes
Making this oil free stir fry
Making this recipe, in pictures:
Done!
This recipe can work with different kinds of greens. You can stick with asian greens, or branch out and try it with a bit of kale or cabbage even. Try slicing some thin carrots and celery, or whatever else you have on hand. The recipe as noted will leave you with a bit of additional sauce for the rice (although this will depend on how long you braise the vegetables, or how firmly you pack them while measuring) – so play around a bit if you aren’t serving it with rice.
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Katy W.
Thank you for the recipe! I was just cleaning out my fridge and I have a lot of cranberries leftover from the holidays that I didn’t know what to do with. I will definitely make this, looks great.
Jen deHaan
Fantastic! Haha, that was exactly the situation I found myself in too. I hope you like it!
Johanne Leavitt
This was so delicious! I used cauliflower in place of mushrooms because I had none. Plenty left over for lunch. Not too spicy or sweet. Very filling 🙂
Michael Griffith
What a great recipe! We loved the mix of sweet, tart, and salty with the healthy veggies. We wanted a main dish so we added tofu. I doubled the sauce recipe and marinated crumbled tofu in that extra half. I aded the crumbled tofu with the veggies. Thank you. Keep up the good work!