Sweet and Sour Vegetables is a very hearty meal that is vegan friendly. The Cauliflower and Broccoli are roasted, giving this meal a smokey flavor.
Before I begin, I just want to share a little anecdote about this recipe. It is one of my strangest, yet, bravest moments of my life.
There was a Chinese fast-food restaurant in Queens, NYC. They had many good vegetarian recipes on their menu, but, no sweet and sour recipe for vegetarians.
So, when I felt that I had “perfected” my sweet and sour vegetables recipe, I walked into that Chinese restaurant in Queens. With my chin held high, I offered to sell my sweet and sour recipe to them for a “reasonable” 4-figure sum.
In those days, I was really trying hard to get out of my shell, so, I took this opportunity to better my selling skills. For me to walk into that restaurant, it took every bit of courage and strength I could muster.
I think I must have changed my mind several times before finally marching into that restaurant and make my offer.
Needless to say, they laughed me out of the restaurant. Since I couldn’t understand Chinese I, thankfully, walked away without understanding any of their insults.
I am sure you have already figured out that what happened next……
A couple months after that humbling experience, I noticed a sweet and sour vegetarian Lo Mein recipe on their menu! At first, I was angry that they stole my idea without giving me credit for it.
Eventually, I was kind of proud of my tiny accomplishment and even flattered beyond words that they choose to add a sweet and sour recipe on their menu.
Ultimately, I want to believe that it was their most popular vegetarian recipe.
I found that the trick to a good sweet and sour sauce is the pineapple. More specifically, it was pineapple juice that gave the sauce the right amount of sweetness.
Also, I roasted pineapple chunks and then mixed them with other roasted vegetables. This makes for a smokey flavored vegetables.
The end results were nothing short of delicious comfort food heaven! This sweet and sour vegetables recipe is my favorite go-to dinner recipe.
I like to eat the noodles with rice noodles, but, my family likes eating them with basmati rice. You can serve it with brown rice or lo mein noodles
What is your favorite Chinese vegetarian meal?
Recipe for Sweet and Sour Vegetables
Sweet and Sour Vegetables
Ingredients
For the Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 1 cup pineapple juice (fresh or from can)
- 4 tsp corn starch
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce unsalted
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 4 Tbsp Sugar
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp salt
For the Vegetables
- 1 cup cauliflower florets
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup pineapple chunks
- 1/2 cup red onions cubed
- 1 red pepper cubed
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil for roasting the vegetables
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil for stir frying
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 3 Thai Chili
- 2 tsp agave
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- In a mixing bowl, add the cauliflower and broccoli
- Add the EVOO, salt and black pepper. Mix well
- Place the cauliflower and broccoli on a baking sheet
- Roast for about 20 minutes
- In a separate bowl, mix the pineapple chunks and agave
- Place the pineapple in a baking tray and roast them for 10 minutes
- Set the vegetables aside
- In a bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients together. Mix well and make sure there are no lumps
- In a stir fry pan, add the EVOO and heat on low for about 20 seconds
- Add the onions and stir fry them until they are slightly caramelized
- Add the red bell pepper and fry them for a few minutes, until the skin crinkles
- Add the sweet and sour sauce.
- Let the sauce thicken a little, but, stir frequently (about 5 minutes)
- Add the cauliflower, broccoli and pineapple to the mixture
- Stir well and let it cook for about 5-7 minutes. Keep stirring so that it doesn't stick at the bottom
- Remove and serve over glass noodles or lo mein noodles
Notes
- Mini Corn
- Chestnuts
- Snap peas
- French beans
- Green Peppers
- Red Pepper Flakes
I love sweet and sour, be it with beef, pork, fish or veggies. This is a great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Elizabeth
I love vegetables and I love sweet and sour. That makes a perfect combination! Thanks for sharing dear! 🙂
Mhaan | http://www.mommyrockininstyle.com
Thank you, Delos
I bet this would be a huge hit with my family. It sounds absolutely delicious.
Thank you, Robin
Sweet and sour veggies sound pretty good to me. Simple and quite tasty.
Thank you, Debbie
I am finding my tolerance of meets lessening so when I saw this I am was most happy! Thank you very much.
Thank you, Claudette. Come on over to the meatless side! The water is fine! 🙂
This looks so yummy!
Thank you, Renee
Tomorrows dinner!
Thank you, Shari
Those look amazing! And I love that kind of thing over rice, too! YUM!
Thank you, Kristen. It is definitely better over the rice
Great story and recipe. I am always looking for vegetarian recipes and I am looking forward to making this for my daughter.
Thank you, One Stop Mom
Go you! I am seriously impressed–and you have such a great attitude about how it all turned out. And I agree pineapple is key–this dish looks amazing.
Thank you, Laura. It was definitely a process to get from anger to acceptance.
I love making sweet and sour dishes.
Thank you, Michelle
I love sweet and sour, I had it for dinner last night – yummy!
Thank you, Claire
I always need to way to serve those veggies. These look like ones my family would like.
Thank you, Tara
Wow! I would never have the courage to try to sell my recipes to a restaurant but you definitely have my wheels turning now. 🙂 This dish looks amazing, and I think my family would not even miss the meat. Gonna have to try this soon!
Thank you, Kellie. It was one of those things that I did on a whim and I have never looked back. I think your recipes will be a hit at any restaurant. I know I would love to try them.
My family is a fan of sweet and sour, I am sure they will love this recipe.
Thank you, Karla
Roasting the pineapple! Brilliant! These veggies look delicious and I’m so excited to try it 🙂
Thank you, Colleen
I made this tonight for my family and it was a huge hit. I omitted the sugar because I felt the pineapple juice would be sweet enough and tomato sauce because I didn’t have any. I reduced the honey by half. Finally I added sweet apple chicken sausage. I bet this would be great with kielbasa too (for those of us with non-vegan family members). Delicious supper!
Thank you, Denise. You are so awesome for making this recipe. I LOVE hearing from those who make my recipes. I am flattered that it was a huge hit and it is so nice to hear that you made a version from this recipe. I can’t wait to hear what you think of my other recipes.
Ha, I love your story! It’s funny when you push yourself to do something that terrifies you, and then even if you “fail” it still feels like such a great accomplishment just because you dared to try. Plus in this case, you got an awesome recipe out of it! And it looks amazing.
Thank you, Katherine. I love your encouragement. It isn’t always easy to put yourself out there, so, when you get praised it feels good. So happy to hear that you liked the recipe.
This is such a palate-pleasing dish! I love sweet and sour flavors and it’s great to have not just a tasty dish but a super-healthy one, too!
Thank you, Abigail. It was a fun meal to make.
This is so timely. I have an Indian neighbor who is a vegetarian. She mostly cooks Indian food but I’ve managed to get her out of her shell a bit but she has NO way to Chinese. I’ve got a new recipe to try…I’m hoping she’ll say ‘way.’
Thank you, Barbara. I think your vegetarian neighbor will love this recipe. It is one of my favorite Chinese meals make.