Nothing hits the spot like a hot, steaming bowl of stir-fry. It’s the perfect dish to cook after a long day at work, and is great to make ahead and store for a week’s worth of lunch-time meals. Fry up Mongolian lamb, and pork crackling, orslice up a pile of rainbow-coloured vegetables and coat them in delicious stir-fry sauce for a tasty vegetarian meal.
Best pans for stir fry dishes
Cast-iron or carbon-steel woks work particularly well as they hold the heat evenly. If you don’t have a wok, use a large, deep non-stick frying pan.
Have all ingredients chopped and measured before you start. Wash and dry well before chopping as wet vegetables add moisture to the dish.
Cut vegetables into similar-sized pieces so they’ll cook evenly.
Preheat your wok before you add the oil. Once you add the oil, give it a swirl to coat the base and side. As stir-frying is done over a high heat, it’s best to use oils with a high smoke point.
Use a metal chan (Asian wok stirrer) or wooden spatula when stir-frying to gently push and toss the food around the wok. Chans are also great for removing food from the wok.
Always cook your meat first in small batches to seal it and keep it tender. Adding too much meat will reduce the temperature of the wok and make it stew, resulting in tough, flavourless meat. Don’t overcook the meat at this stageas it will continue to cook when it’s returned to the wok.
Stir-fry onions first, then add hard vegetables such as carrot and broccoli. Quick-cooking vegetables, such as snow peas, leafy greens and bean sprouts, should be added towards the end of cooking. If using vegies that have a combination of both textures, such as gai laan, add the stems first and the leaves later.
Add sauces and pre-cooked noodles last. They only need to be stir-fried until just heated through.
How to clean a wok
Clean your wok by washing in hot water. To stop your wok from rusting, make sure it’s completely dry and then wipe the surface lightly with vegetable oil before packing away.
If the meat isn't tender, the pieces will become tough and chewy from being cooked too fast. Maintaining a tender and juicy dish is a key component of stir-frying. If you have difficulty cooking meats like chicken that are prone to drying out, you can soak them in a marinating liquid for a few minutes.
Stir-fry onions first, then add hard vegetables such as carrot and broccoli. Quick-cooking vegetables, such as snow peas, leafy greens and bean sprouts, should be added towards the end of cooking. If using vegies that have a combination of both textures, such as gai laan, add the stems first and the leaves later.
So many different oils, the good news is you can stick with what you know – canola is great! The best oils for stir frys are the oils with the higher smoke points. These tend to be the “thinner” oils such as peanut, grapeseed or canola.
Aromatic ingredients like garlic, ginger, green onions, chilies and spices. These ingredients are typically added to the oil first to infuse it with flavor. You won't need much; a few teaspoons to a tablespoon of total aromatic ingredients per person adds a serious amount of flavor.
Cornstarch! In his book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman recommends mixing 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the same amount of water, and tossing this into the stir fry just when it's almost done. It thickens in seconds, picking up the flavors of everything already in the dish and coating evenly.
Take-out stir-fries tend to be loaded with sodium and may be high in refined carbs like rice and noodles. Making them at home will give you more control over the ingredients so you can enjoy a healthier stir-fry.
Introduction: My name is Greg Kuvalis, I am a witty, spotless, beautiful, charming, delightful, thankful, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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