Mastering the Stir-Fry
The appeal of many restaurant dishes often comes down to a few key factors – unique ingredients, a special preparation, or simply the time required to make them. Having someone else prepare our food often feels like it saves vital time and effort. Plus, we’re leaving it to the pros, right? But what if you decided to master the art and craft of preparing your favorite dish? And you learned the homemade version could be simplified? For the beloved Asian stir-fry, we’re going to break down common barriers and streamline the process for at-home cooking.
Preparation
Traditional stir-fry preparation involves cooking in a wok, a specialized piece of cookware that ensures proper heat conduction and shortens cook time. The flared sides serve to prevent oil from splattering all over when ingredients are tossed, ensuring even cooking. These are variables that can be harder to control with a traditional skillet when cooking at home. Knowing that upfront, we can do our best to account for it with key technique considerations.
To start, you’ll need to determine which ingredients you will use. The best approach is to limit the number to five, allowing the flavors and textures to work together effectively, and ensuring the cooking process isn’t drawn out too long. Those who love Asian stir-fries often appreciate that the dish comes out hot and that the quality of the ingredients is preserved. To build on the foundations, aim to include something tender, something crunchy, and something with a rich flavor (such as meat or the sauces). One great thing about stir-fries is that they can be a wonderful way to use up produce items you already have on hand. Or to build a meal around some of your favorite items. Non-starchy vegetables that work wonderfully in a stir-fry include carrots, bell peppers, onions, snow peas, broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, Bok choy, and green beans. For proteins, many of the classics work well, such as thinly sliced chicken breast, lean beef, pork, shrimp, firm tofu, eggs, or edamame. While the cooking process may differ for non-meat/seafood options, they can be easily integrated into a stir-fry. Lastly are the starches, classics include rice and noodles.
Preparation of ingredients before cooking is a significant factor in the success of the dish. This is where an element of technique comes into play. Stir-fry ingredients are typically sliced or julienned (cut into short, thin strips). Pieces of the same ingredient should be uniform with one another. For example, the carrots should be the same length and width as one another, and the pieces of beef should be the same length and width as one another (often thicker than the vegetables to keep the meat tender and juicy). A final prep step that needs to be mentioned is chopping garlic and ginger, the Chinese aromatics. These are the details that take a dish from being pretty good to fabulous. Additionally, preparing these ingredients beforehand simplifies the actual cooking process.
Ingredients and dietary considerations
The next step is to select and measure out the sauce ingredients. This is another step where things can get complicated, but also where flavors can really hit or miss the mark. If you aren’t looking to expand your condiments to include several Asian sauces just yet, consider mastering the stir-fry technique with a premade sauce first. Then once you are confident that you’ll enjoy preparing a variety of stir-fries at home, you can expand your sauce selections and craft your own, such as this Chinese stir-fry sauce. The most important considerations are to have a few ingredients to round out the flavor with something a little sweet, bitter, and salty to stimulate all those taste receptors, leading to ultimate mealtime satisfaction!
For ingredient swaps, such as gluten-free or vegan, there are various considerations based on what you have or plan to purchase that can be used again. For a gluten-free soy sauce, some brands do have a gluten-free option, or Tamari is a natural gluten-free substitute. A few brands also offer gluten-free oyster sauce. Coconut aminos are both gluten-free and soy-free. They have a naturally sweet flavor, so they work best paired with other savory sauces/ingredients. For vegan sauce swaps (such as with fish or oyster sauce), some brands offer vegan alternatives or mushroom-based options. While Asian dishes are often high in sodium, there are ways to reduce this, including using low-sodium broth, low-sodium soy sauce, and reducing the total amount of sauce used in the dish or per portion. You might also consider utilizing more spices in place of sauces, such as Chinese five-spice and white pepper. Partner with your dietitian to explore options and consider which best meet your needs and preferences.
Now is the ideal time to prepare a marinade for the protein you’ll be using (such as meat, seafood, or tofu). This process doesn’t require much time; just a quick 10-15 minute marinade helps give meat a rich flavor and lock in its natural juices. One tip for keeping the meat soft and tender is to add a little bit of water, about 1 tablespoon for every 1/2 pound of meat. Massaging the marinade with the meat helps to absorb more liquid as it rests. Note: Tofu also does well when marinated, but you can skip this step for fish and seafood.
As the meat rests, stir-fry enthusiasts suggest setting out all the ingredients you’ll be using near your cooking space for easy access. Since the stir-fry process happens quickly, you don’t want to be scrambling to grab other ingredients once you’ve started, as certain items may overcook due to the high temperatures being used. Once the ingredients are ready, select a medium- to large, flat-bottomed skillet and place it on the stove over high heat. To test if the skillet is hot enough, add a few drops of a high-heat oil (such as avocado oil). The oil should sizzle and appear to bounce around in the pan when it is hot enough. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and tip/tilt the pan to coat the bottom and lower sides/rim with oil.
Cooking techniques
With the pan nice and hot, our first cooking step is to sear the meat. When cooking in a flat-bottomed skillet versus a wok, it’s best to arrange the meat in a single layer so it can cook on the first side for about a minute before stirring. This creates the desired sear, which caramelizes the meat, develops a better flavor, and seals in juices. Be sure not to overcrowd the skillet (i.e., adding more than one pound of meat at once), as this will cause the meat to steam, negatively impacting its flavor and texture. To truly elevate your stir-fry protein game, consider learning about the concept of “velveting,” a technique used in Chinese restaurants that gives proteins a tender and silky texture. Once the meat is cooked through, transfer it to a clean dish and set it aside. If the pan is dry, add another tablespoon of oil to prepare the pan for cooking step two.
Next, we’re adding in the vegetables, starting with whichever one takes the longest to cook. Often these are the dense, fibrous vegetables, such as carrots or green beans. Some sources suggest blanching these beforehand to lessen cook time. But cutting them very small and using the julienne technique (as is used to create matchstick carrots) are ways to simplify the process for home stir-frying. Depending on what vegetables you choose, this process may take 2-4 minutes per vegetable. To keep vegetables tender, we want to prevent overcrowding, another reason for limiting our ingredients to 3-5 per recipe. If needed, remove the already cooked vegetables from the pan before adding the next item.
Once each ingredient has been stir-fried, add everything back into the pan along with the sauce. Stir gently to coat, then cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Serve over rice or with noodles. And there you have it! A fresh, flavorful, homemade stir fry! The preparation generally takes more time than the cooking, which can be intimidating. We hope having the steps clearly outlined will empower you to try your hand (and skillet) at creating a homemade stir-fry that takes the place of takeout as part of your regular meal rotation. The best part? Now you have a versatile plate method meal concept with endless possibilities!
Sources:
- The Woks of Life
- https://thewoksoflife.com/how-to-make-stir-fry/
- https://thewoksoflife.com/chinese-pantry-essential-ingredients/