Stir Frying

March 1, 2025

Hello Friends,

The most famous of all Chinese cooking techniques is stir frying. Stir frying has many similarities to sautéing but have some important differences. Both methods cook food quickly; stir frying over very hot heat and sautéing over moderately high heat. A little more oil is used in stir frying, so this technique requires a deeper pan for cooking, preferably a wok. Constant motion of tossing (or stirring) the ingredients will produce the recipe to perfection.

When stir frying, by having all the ingredients ready before you start cooking makes what seems to be a complicated technique a very simple one. The secret is to move quickly once you start. You don’t have time to look for a missing ingredient once you start the cooking.

Vegetables cut in equal size are the most perfect ingredients for stir frying. With the crisp textures, bright colors and natural flavors, they turn out to perfection with this method of cooking. These vegetable dishes can be served alone or poultry, meat and seafood can be added along with various grains such as rice. When making a recipe with a mixture of meat and vegetables, the meat is cooked first, removed from the pan and added back after the vegetables are cooked. The recipe can be served alone or with flavor enhancing sauces.

Seasoning the Wok or Frying Pan
Place wok or pan over high heat; when hot add a small amount of oil and heat until oil ripples slightly but not smoking. Lift the pan and tilt to coat bottom and sides. Add seasonings like ginger and garlic and cook just until fragrant (few seconds). This is called “seasoning the wok”; any longer and the seasoning will burn. If the oil begins to smoke, lift the pan up off the heat a moment to cool.

If you wish to serve a sauce with your stir fry combine ½ cup chicken broth with 1 tablespoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons soy sauce; blend together and set aside. Use about one pound of vegetables with this sauce recipe. If you wish to add meat, poultry or seafood with your stir fry, small pieces will be cooked first, removed and set aside to add later.

If you wish to cook several vegetables and the textures are different, add the firmest first to the pan and partially cook and then add the more tender ones at the end of the cooking time. You can also cook each separately. Combine all ingredients that you choose to use in the pan; add sauce if desired and stir until thickened about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.

The natural shape of vegetables determines the way they should be cut. Asparagus, carrots and celery should be cut in ¼ inch slanted slices. Broccoli and cauliflower should be cut in small flowerettes and sliced in ½ inch pieces. Bean sprouts are left whole and Brussels sprouts are cut in half. Mushrooms are best in ¼ inch slices and green beans cut in 1 inch lengths. Basically, the flavor absorbs better in small pieces.

STIR FRY PORK AND CORN

Combine cornstarch, soy sauce, sherry and pepper in bowl; add pork and stir to coat.
Stir into pork mixture 1 teaspoon of the oil; let stand to marinate.
Prepare cooking sauce and set aside.
Heat about 2 tablespoons of the oil; season pan with garlic.
Add ½ of pork and stir fry until light brown and remove to platter.
Heat another 2 tablespoons of oil and repeat process with remaining pork.
Heat remaining oil and add onion and mushrooms.
Stir fry 1 minute adding a few drops of water if pan is dry.
Add corn, pork, green onions; cook for 30 seconds; stir in cooking sauce until bubbly.
Cooking Sauce: Combine in a bowl 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon vinegar, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and ¾ cup chicken broth or water.

Your friend, Frances