Mall-Style Vegetable Stir-Fry Recipe (2024)

I skipped the put-sauce-into-blender step. Didn't see the point and don't think it made any difference to the result, which was easy and tasty.

Hi!Sauce is to be added in Step 4:“Stir in broccoli, chickpeas and sauce, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are cooked to your liking, about 10 minutes.”

You can always go with the low sodium soy sauce, and make sure the brine your chickpeas are in is "lower sodium" (or buy dried and soak on your own). That should reduce the sodium by 40%ish, I would think.

I am also careful with sodium, and would recommend the following: definitely use lower sodium soy sauce, but cut it back to a scant 1/4 C. Supplement it with chicken (or vegetable) broth.

I haven't made this yet, but I'm going to try Coconut Aminos. One half cup of one brand of coconut aminos is 2160 mg sodium and one half cup reduced sodium soy sauce is about 4600 mg sodium. That should knock it down enough to be o.k. without it being a salt-lick. If I get a chance to try it soon, I'll try to remember to report back.

Coconut aminos are the way to go if you are looking for a lower salt alternative to soy sauce. I use coconut aminos exclusively in my Asian cooking and I cannot tell any difference in the flavor and don't miss the salt content.

Loved this recipe, but as written it's way too salty. I'd already poured in the soy sauce, so I added white wine and cooked it down. I ended up adding about a cup of water to get rid of the excess salt taste. Next time, I'll start with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and make up the difference with salt-free broth and wine. I also used black beans instead of chickpeas--I think they go better. I served with corn fritters.

carefully, reread step 4

Any thoughts on how to reduce the sodium level? This one dish is an entire day's worth of sodium.

I liked the sauce. With all the comments on how salty the sauce is, I used 1/3 of low sodium Tamari sauce (gluten-free soy sauce) and added 1 tsp of peanut butter and didn't need anything else. This can be done with all kinds of veggies good for stir fry. I used cabbage, bell peppers, zucchini and carrots. At the end I threw some cashews bc I like the crunch on a stir fry.

Maybe that's why it i "mall style." Can't get that genuine mall flavor without tons of salt!

I substituted all that stuff with MEAT.... it was delicious.

Regarding Step 4, an Oxford comma (after chickpeas) could clarify that the sauce is not part of the chickpeas, but the sauce that was made in the first three steps. In other words, it’s easy to miss the sauce in this step

I suppose you could add practically any vegetable that strikes your fancy to this recipe, but snow-peas strikes me as essential. Also, throw in a handful of peanuts for each serving at the very end.

I skipped the step that called for putting the sauce in the blender. It didn't seem to need it. I did not see all the notes about reducing the soy sauce till I had already added it, so I tried to cut down the salty flavor by adding dry white wine and a bit of broth. I added jalapeño peppers with the vegetables because we like our meals spicy. This recipe was a hit!

Substituted Boc Choy for the broccoli. Added 1/4 c of Sherry to the sauce. Delicious!

The sauce was really awful. Too much rice wine vinegar. Much worse than Mall food. I'm sorry I wasted my time and money.

I omitted the chickpeas and added medium firm tofu cubes instead. But everything else in the recipe I kept the same. It was very delicious, the end result was flavourful and didn’t taste like dates at all (I puréed the sauce until smooth). I will definitely be making this again.

Use 1/2 the soy with 1/2 chic stock

Half and half cooking soy sauce and water. The dates really really worked. Skipper sesame oil as I didn’t have any. This was the most successful takeout-style stir fry I’ve EVER made - i think the dates for sweetness, the not-overly-stiff cornstarch slurry, and then the blending were the keys. I will absolutely make again. Veg mix: shallot, mushroom, red bell pepper, broccoli, snow peas, tempeh and scallion greens.

Soooo good and the family LOVED it!

So salty! Blerg. I was disappointed. Way too salty to even enjoy it. If you haven't made it yet, cut back on the soy sauce by half and use water to make up for it. Wow. So salty.

I didn’t find the sauce too salty. I left out the chickpeas but added cashews. Mixed with Maifun brown rice noodles. Sriracha with serving.

This came together easily as I had all of the ingredients on hand. I used bok choy in place of broccoli, chicken thigh in place of chick peas and added a few shiitake mushrooms. As written it is too salty for my taste. I will definitely cut the soy. It was very tasty for a quick meal.

I should have known that “mall style” does not translate into edible.

This really hit the spot! Usually when I try to make something to satisfy the Chinese takeout itch I’m really disappointed. I used half soy sauce, half water per others recs and it was perfect - still very salty, which I wanted.I used tempeh instead of chickpeas and added snap peas. I blenderized the sauce and was glad I did - more like “real” mall Chinese. (Btw I don’t think I’ve ever actually had mall Chinese, or if I did, I was in 4th grade.)

I love the NYT recipes but this one was a bust. The 1/2 cup soy sauce was way too salty and made the dish inedible (and I like salt!). I froze the dish and hopefully can salvage in a soup.

Popular with teenagers! Note: This gets salty fast. Use low-salt soy sauce & low-salt chickpeas.

made it with chickpeas.I prefer the one I made with rice noodles and tofu.Also, dates were on the large side, a bit too sweet. Would be helpful to specify dates in terms of cups/tbsps

Made this last night and it was a hit. I added green onions and celery (because I had some in the fridge and didn’t want them going bad) and peanuts. I’ll definitely make again!