How To Do a Proper Stir Fry

A “stir fry” should be considered the same as a “stew” or a good “ghoulash”; you simply throw a lot into the pot and see what happens. All you need is a source of protein, the rice, some liquid, and some vegetables. A wok is great, but any frying pan is good. So, let’s get a good stir fry going.

First, start boiling the water for the rice. You may want to stir the water a little; this makes the rice a little sticky. You will then want to either prep the meat or start cooking it. This is one of those times tofu is appreciated; “quarter inch” is the keyword here as you want to slice the tofu either into strips or wafers. The same applies to any other meat you want to slice, be it steak or pork. Chicken is a special case; you can either cut it into strips or mash it down. Fish should not be used; it tends to flake and that may make frying it difficult, but if it can be kept in big chunks use it. However, any other seafood will work magnificently. Whatever protein you end up using, cook it at a low to medium heat so as to get the most juice for your stir fry.

Once you have the meat frying, start prepping your vegetables. Don’t slice too fast, but try to time for when the meat is ready. Any vegetables work here, so either go with your favorites, whatever needs to be used, or just pulling out random vegetables; it’s all good. Cut them up into bite-size pieces, and put them aside. When you start putting them into the pan, try to work from the hardest to cook to the easiest; this means carrots and other roots first, then celery and other stalk vegetables (such as green onions), followed by onions. After that, it will be your squashes and eggplants, and then any soft vegetables (including tomatoes). This should allow everything to cook at the same speed.

Whatever liquid you are going to add should be added at this point, as well as any spices. You can add them at the beginning, but you want to be able to drain the oil from the meat without wasting any of the liquids. I know I’m being vague here, but anything works here as well; teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, even ketchup. If you want to try something different, combine some hoisin sauce with peanut butter for a great little sauce. Red chili pepper is a great addition, along with black pepper; you want some heat if possible, but ignore the rest of the spices as they may be drowned out by the liquid part.

You can then either add the rice or put everything over it; either way it works. I prefer to put the stir fry over the rice, but that’s because the rice can soak up the liquid. Serve with chopsticks or a fork, and it’s ready to go. Enjoy!