Adzuki Bean Stir Fry

Posted by Elise Mitchell, BS, RYT, Health and Wellness Coordinator at Entrada on November 09, 2017

Elise MitchellRecipe Serves 8 

Sauce:
2 cups light coconut milk
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2-4 limes, juiced
2 inch piece fresh ginger root, minced
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons agave nectar
**Cayenne, Chinese 5 spice, salt, pepper

Stir Fry:
2 tablespoons oil (sesame or grape seed)
2 red onion, cut into 1 inch long strips
2 bell pepper, cut into 1 inch long strips
2 peppers for added spice (Fresno or jalapeno), cut into thin strips or diced
1 cup thinly sliced carrot
2 cups canned adzuki beans, drained (or black beans) 
4 small mangos - peeled and cut into strips

For the carnivore - Marinate beef or chicken in some liquid aminos and seasoning. After heating the oil in the skillet, add meat. Cook for 3-4 minutes until beef is browned. Set aside. Add back to stir fry with beans and mango.

  1. To make the sauce, blend the coconut milk, cilantro, lime juice, ginger, garlic, and agave nectar in a blender until smooth; set aside.
  2. Cook enough rice for the group – remember 2:1 ratio (water to rice) and add a little salt while cooking to enhance flavor. Can always substitute with quinoa for added nutrition and a heartier dinner!
  3. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onion, peppers, and carrot in the hot oil until the carrot is tender, about 10 minutes.
  4. Add the adzuki beans and mango; cook and stir until the mango is hot. Pour the sauce overtop and serve over rice.

Liven up your stir fry with more seasoning like Chinese 5 Spice, cayenne, cumin. Remember a little goes a long way and you can always add but not subtract! 

Nutrition Fun Facts

Adzuki Bean Stir Fry - This is an incredibly easy recipe – versatile and flavorful! Can make a great meal any time of the year. Try it vegetarian or with different meats like chicken or pork!

Mango: The tartaric acid, malic acid, and a trace of citric acid found in the fruit help to maintain the alkali reserve of the body. The generous amounts of vitamin C and vitamin A in mangos, plus 25 different kinds of carotenoids keep your immune system healthy and strong.

Adzuki/Black Beans: The high quantity of both protein and fiber in black beans help to move food through the stomach to the large intestine at a healthy pace. This supports the ideal balance of chemicals and populations of microorganisms required for a healthy digestive system. Folate, or vitamin B6, is particularly abundant in black and adzuki beans. The nervous system relies on folate to produce the amino acids it needs to function properly. Just a quarter cup of adzuki beans contains 100% of the recommended daily intake of molybdenum, a trace mineral that produces the enzyme sulfite oxidase which is crucial for liver detoxification.

Other Veggies & Spices: Cilantro is one of the richest herbal sources for vitamin K; provide about 258% of DRI. Vitamin-K has a potential role in bone mass building by promoting osteotrophic activity in the bones. Garlic contains many flavonoid anti-oxidants like carotene beta, zea-xanthin, and vitamins like vitamin-C. Vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals. Chilies contain health benefiting an alkaloid compound in them, capsaicin, which gives strong spicy pungent character. Early laboratory studies suggest that capsaicin has anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic and anti-diabetic properties. Bell peppers are an excellent source of vitamin C at 117 milligrams per cup. (That’s more than twice the amount of vitamin C found in a typical orange.) Simple math: one green bell pepper is equal to two oranges!

Stir Fry Fun Facts

Stir Fry’s origins can be traced back to Nepal – Sorry China! In Nepal, they used a small pan called a Degchi. It was used to quickly fry meat. The Chinese adopted the cooking technique and the pan became known as a wok. In India, the same concept was adopted using a pan called the Karahi.

** These statements are only meant to provide anecdotal information about these ingredients**

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