Stir Frying

Stir frying is an Asian cooking technique that quickly cooks small pieces of vegetables, meats, poultry, seafood, or noodles over very high heat in a wok or sauté pan.

Equipment

Woks have a distinctive bowl-shaped form and are made by hammering large round sheets of thin steel over a circular mold. They are designed to cook bite-sized pieces of meat and vegetables quickly using little fuel and cooking oil—the thin steel allows heat to pass through the metal and into the food very quickly. Because of this rapid heat transfer, the food is constantly moved around the wok using two large spoons or wok tools to keep it from burning. In addition to stir frying, you could also steam, boil, or fry foods in a wok, making it one of the most versatile pieces of equipment in the kitchen. But if you do not have a wok, you can use a large sauté pan or cast-iron skillet to stir fry.

Ingredients

Cut ingredients for stir frying into bite-sized pieces so that they cook very quickly. Ideal ingredients for stir frying include:

• Lean chicken, turkey, beef, and pork
• Shrimp, scallops, calamari, and lobster
• Vegetables
• Noodles
• Tofu

Sauces and Seasonings for Stir Frying

The Asian kitchen is full of many wonderful premade sauces that make it easy to develop your own recipes: Just add them to your stir fry near the end of cooking. You can get most of these ingredients at the supermarket:

• Soy sauce
• Oyster sauce
• Hoisin sauce

• Shrimp paste
• Sesame oil
• Curry sauce or paste

Chef’s Note

Since high heat is so important for this cooking method, never stir fry more than about a quart of food at a time to be sure the food cooks evenly and doesn’t get too mushy. Work in batches if you need to cook a larger quantity.

Garlic, Ginger, and Scallions

Most Chinese-style stir-fry dishes begin with garlic, ginger, and scallions (green onions), which chefs have nicknamed “GGS.” Use equal amounts of fresh ginger and garlic, and 3 times as much sliced scallions. Once the oil in the wok or pan is very hot, add the GGS and stir fry briefly before adding your other ingredients.

Have Everything Ready

Stir frying is a very quick cooking method, so it’s important to have all your ingredients ready before you start. If you are not prepared, it will make for disastrous results! The food in the pan will not wait for you to prep the next ingredient and will burn or become mushy.