Vegetables in Hot Garlic Sauce is a delicious Chinese-style vegetarian main course dish that pairs well with stir-fry noodles or fried rice.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

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What is vegetable hot garlic sauce?
The tone and flavours of the vegetables in hot garlic sauce are inspired by Indian – Chinese fusion cuisine, with garlic and red chilli being the primary tastemakers. It is an excellent choice if youβre looking for a one-pot, vegan meal that packs a lot of fresh vegetables.
The Hot Garlic Sauce
The best part of this takeaway-style recipe is undoubtedly the hot garlic sauce. It is finger-licking good. It is so satisfying to dig into it and take a mouthful of pure, oriental bliss.
Did I tell you that hot garlic sauce can be easily customized? Yes, you can make it more spicy or garlicky as per your liking. From vegetables to fried chicken, anything tastes good in this sauce.
Watch Vegetables Hot Garlic Sauce Video
How To Make
- Chop Vegetables: Wash, clean, and chop a choice of vegetables into bite-size pieces (you can use bok choy, carrot, bean sprouts, broccoli, bell peppers, wild mushrooms, tofu, or whatever you like).
- Aromatics: Peel and finely chop garlic β this is the dish’s star – add a little more quantity than usual for a stronger flavour. Similarly, finely chop ginger and celery as well.
- Prepare Sauce Mix: Combine brown sugar, red chilli flakes, soy sauce, and sriracha sauce. Mix and keep aside till required.
- Cornflour Paste: Mix cornflour in water in a small bowl to form a thick paste/slurry and set aside. Cornflour paste is commonly used as a thickening agent in Indian – Chinese recipes.
- Stir-Fry Vegetables: Add oil to your favourite Chinese wok and wait until it gets hot. Now add in all the vegetables and stir fry on high heat. Make sure not to cook vegetables for too long. Transfer to a plate and use the same pan for making hot garlic sauce.
- Prepare Gravy: To the same wok, add sesame oil and wait till it gets hot. Add finely chopped garlic, ginger, celery, and whole red chillies. Toss well, taking good care not to burn them β they should be golden brown but not burnt. Add the spring onion whites or regular onions and toss through till fragrant.
- Next, add the vinegar and the sauce mix prepared in step 3. Stir to combine. Add vegetable stock or lukewarm water, followed by the cornflour paste prepared in step 4. Season with salt to taste. Gently stir to avoid the formation of any lumps.
- Once the sauce reaches a sweet corn-soup like consistency, add the stir-fried vegetables and cook for 3 – 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Serving Suggestion
Serve vegetable hot garlic sauce warm with fried rice or chili garlic noodles. For a low calorie, gluten free meal you can serve it with Shirataki Noodles with some stir fried garlicky broccoli or smashed cucumber salad on the side.
For busy weeknights, you can serve it with jasmine or plain basmati rice as well.
More Indian-Chinese Recipes
- Veg Manchurian Gravy
- Honey Chilli Potato
- Gobi Manchurian
- Chilli Mushroom
- Veg Spring Roll
- Chilli Paneer
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Vegetables in Hot Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
Ingredients For Hot Garlic Sauce:
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes or to taste
- ΒΌ Cup red chili sauce or Sriracha sauce
Vegetables:
- 1 large-size onion, diced
- 1 Cup diced green capsicum
- 1 Cup diced yellow bell pepper
- 1 Cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 Cup diced mushrooms
- 1 Cup diced baby corn (cut into half inch pieces)
- 1 Cup sliced zucchini (cut into semi-circles)
Other Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
- 8 -10 garlic cloves, fine chopped
- 1 tablespoon fine chopped ginger
- 2 tablespoon fine chopped celery
- 2 – 4 whole dry red chilies (sabut lal mirch)
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar
- salt to taste
- Β½ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 2 tablespoon cornflour (corn starch)
- 3 – 4 cup water
Ingredients For Garnish:
- 1 tablespoon fine chopped spring onion greens
- 1 tablespoon roasted crushed peanuts (moongphalli)
- 1 fresh red chili fine chopped (optional)
Instructions
Prep Work:
- Wash, clean and chop choice of vegetables into equal size pieces (refer to the video for vegetable cuts).
- Dissolve cornflour in Β½ cup of water and keep aside until required.
- Combine brown sugar, red chili flakes, soy sauce and Sriracha sauce. Mix nicely and keep aside till required.
Stir-Fry Vegetables:
- Heat cooking oil in a wok or stir-fry pan. Add all the vegetables except onion and stir-fry on high heat for 3 – 5 minutes. Make sure not to cook vegetables for too long. Transfer to a plate and use the same pan for making hot garlic sauce.
Vegetables In Hot Garlic Sauce:
- Heat sesame oil in the same wok. Add finely chopped garlic, whole red chilies, ginger and celery. Give it a quick stir for a 1 – 2 minutes to release the aroma of the herbs.
- Add diced onion and stir-fry for a minute or till onion become translucent.
- Pour white vinegar and mix nicely the ingredients to glaze the pan.
- Next, add the prepared hot garlic sauce mix. Stir to combine. Add water and give sauce a good stir. Season with salt and black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
- Now, add the cornflour slurry or paste and continuously stir the sauce to avoid any lump formation. Once the sauce starts thickening, add stir-fried vegetables. Allow the sauce to simmer for 1 – 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Garnish the gravy with spring onion, crushed peanuts and red chili.
- Serve vegetables in hot garlic sauce with fried rice or noodles.
Recipe Notes:
- Keep all your ingredients ready because one is required to work fast with this dish to get a perfect stir-fry without being burnt or undercooked.
- You can use any variety of vegetables such as bok choy, carrot, bean sprouts, broccoli, bell peppers, mushrooms, or whatever you like.Β
- Adjust the amount of chili as per your taste. My recipe has a medium spicy taste.Β
- You can add vegetable stock as well instead of water in the gravy sauce.
Charmi says
I tried this recipe today, it turned out to be very amazing..
Thanks..
Hina Gujral says
So happy to hear such positive feedback. Thanks, Hina
Megha S Malviya says
Turned out nice . Everyone liked it
Hina Gujral says
thank you so much!
Purvi says
This recipe is really good! Thank you so much!
Hina Gujral says
Always my pleasure π
Sunil Kumar Lall says
Will try this today.
Hina Gujral says
Great!
Lata says
Hi Hina,
Served stir fry veggies in Hot garlic sauce with steamed rice so dinner yesterday.
Yes! It was healthy n tasty. Total immunity booster with loads of veggie garlic ginger n chillies too!!!
Hina Gujral says
Thank You Latha Ji. I am so happy that you enjoyed the recipe and the dinner.
Vandita says
It is a great recipe and it tasted amazing.
I am an amateur cook and it was very well explained. Easy to follow and great tips included.
Hina Gujral says
thanks a lot for your valuable feedback. It really means a lot to me.
Anwesha says
Very easy and delicious recipe.must try n u will love it
Hina Gujral says
thank you so much!
Simple says
Nice recipe, turned out quite well. Made a few adjustments as per my preference ie lesser garlic, added paprika for the smoky flavor. Overall nice job on categorizing the ingredients with mouth watering pictures
Hina Gujral says
thank you so much! Recipes are all about adaptation. It’s great to adjust the ingredients as per personal preference.
Gayathri says
Its a delicious recipe
Hina Gujral says
thank you so much!
Nupur says
It turned out amazing! Thanks for this simple yet delicious recipe
Hina Gujral says
I am so glad to read your feedback.
Dhanvarsha Singh says
I cooked your recipe today and it turned really good. Mind blowing.
Thank you!!
Hina Gujral says
Thanks a million for your brilliant feedback!
Anthony Carrelli says
Excellent recipe, genuine Asian flavors and techniques. I used no water other than 1 cup with the corn starch. For less of a bite hold the vinegar. Thanks π
Hina Gujral says
Thank you for your brilliant feedback!
Sangeeta Kohli says
I tried this but added chicken to it. Came out really well. Hubby & I loved it. Thank you for the recipe.
Hina Gujral says
Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. So happy that you liked the recipe and the final dish!