Stir - Fry

[Jessica_Morris]

What's your favorite stir-fry recipes?

 

[CWS4322]

I think it is more about a combination of flavors, visual appeal, and textures. I usually blanche the "harder" veggies first. I like a bit of spice. Stir fry, at least around here, is kinda "everything but the kitchen sink" to clean out the fridge. It is hard to mess up a stir fry.

 

[Jessica_Morris]

I've been thinking a lot about stir-frys but I'm scared I'm going to put the wrong combinations in and it turn out all wrong

 

[larry_stewart]

Well, for me I dont follow a strict recipe. I kinda use either whats on hand, or whats available. I guess typical ingredients for me would be Broccoli, Mushrooms, onions, bamboo shoots, water chesnuts, carrots, baby corn, bean sprouts, some kind of chinese cabbage ( either bok choy or nappa). As far as a sauce goes, i usually use some kind of modified soy sauce ( maybe adding ginger, garlic, a little sugar, broth of some kind, water it down a bit and also add corn starch as a thickener.

A couple of key things.

As mentioned above, add ingredients in order of hardness, or time taken to cook.

Also, have everything cut up and ready to go. Even the " harder" things take a few minutes, at most. Once you start adding things to the wok, pan, pot ( whatever) you will be eating within 10 minutes. Keep that in mind when preparing rice ( assuming you will be serving it with rice). Nothing worse than realizing you forgot to make the rice, and now have to wait 1/2 hour while the stir-fry gets over cooked and soggy.

larry

 

[larry_stewart]

Oh yeah, as far as the meat goes ( chicken, pork, beef, shrimp...) Im a vegetarian, so I cant really give too much info on that

 

[Timothy]

Chicken is by far my favorite stir-fry meat.

It can be seasoned or marinated in so many ways and when stir-fried in an extremely hot wok, using just a tablespoon of oil, it comes out perfectly when sliced about a 1/4 inch thick, one inch long and a half inch wide.

So tender that it almost melts in your mouth!

Scallops are also awesome this way. Super tender!

 

[PattY1]

Fajita Stir Fry- either Chicken or Beef, I like the flavor of beef best. Chicken is more tender and cheaper usually.

 

[msmofet]

 

[spork]

If you ever eat out at a good Chinese restaurant with a sizable family in tow, try asking/ordering the dish called "Happy Family" for a special treat. It's almost never listed on the menu. It will be the chef's daily improvisation of stir-fried "everything but the kitchen sink." It's traditionally served on a sizzling-hot cast-iron dish, so be careful with burning your finger when passing it around the table's tribe.

Whether at a restaurant or at home, I like simple combinations. Meat + vegetable + supporting ingredients + sauce. It can be classic, or experimental. Even if randomly drawn from frig/cupboard, rarely will it ever be a "totally gross mistake." Pork slices + bean sprouts + ginger pieces + light soy sauce. Or, beef + bitter melon + onions + black bean sauce. I have a bunch of combinations I like, that others might not. Only way is to try, JessMorr, and have fun at it!

 

[TATTRAT]

I've been thinking a lot about stir-frys but I'm scared I'm going to put the wrong combinations in and it turn out all wrong

There isn't much to worry about, so don't. You have to flub something up PRETTY bad for it to be ineatable. You just have something that maybe didn't work out as well as you imagined.

The most important thing for stir-fry is having all your mise en place together. You want to work from longest cook time, to shortest, and do it without having to run around for things. Also, a proper vessel for cooking, and hot HOT heat.

As for recipes, the sky is the limit. Seriously.

I like to start with fresh diced ginger, garlic, crushed red pepper and go in quickly with diced chicken thighs that have coated in equal parts egg white and cornstarch. Let the meat sit, get crusty and golden on the bottom, flip the whole thing as a patty(like fu yung), them go in with julienned carrots, and some bell peppers. . .let it go for a few. . .break up the chicken pieces and go in with some soy, fish sauce, mirin, sugar, and wait . . . make sure chicken is cooked, finish with snow peas, fresh basil, more red pepper, noodles and a squeeze of lime juice. . .or, you can add rice. . .do what ever you want. Cheap, fast, and easy.

 

[buckytom]

once again, what tatt said.

the only thing that i can offer is a good stir fry depends on three things: a screaming hot wok, fresh ingredients mise en place, and a good sauce.

for the latter, the next time you order chinese takeout ask for one or two of the dishes to be steamed with the sauce on the side. use the sauce sparingly (many places often give you too much), then save the rest for your own homemade stirfry. you'll be amazed at how much a good sauce makes up for a lacking in the first two steps.

yeah, it's cheating, but no one has to know.

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

I do all sorts of different types of stir-fry. The other day I made one using diced pork that I cooked in low sodium soy sauce, hoisen sauce, raspberry blush vinegar and ginger. Vegetables were carrots, brocoli, water chestnuts, sweet peppers and pea pods.

I've made stir-fries with lots of different types of vegetables. I love bean sprouts, celery, brocoli, carrots, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, peppers (sweet and hot), onions (usually green or white), mushrooms. Seasonings tend to be ginger and garlic either on their own or with any of the following: corriander, mace, curry, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, tumeric, cardamom, five spice powder. Sauces vary depending on the meat. A lemony or lime sauce with little seasoning is great for seafood. Peach with soy sauce, hoisen sauce, ginger and a drop or two of sesame oil is good with chicken and pork. Soy sauce with black pepper and corriander is good with beef. Pineapple or orange with honey, ginger, soy sauce, a splash of vinegar and a dash of cloves is really good with chicken, beef, pork, or fried tofu. Soy sauce, vinegar, hot cushed red pepper, ginger and garlic is good with just about anything.

I'd say experiment with something simple, maybe start with chicken and a few of your favorite vegetables, use soy sauce and maybe some ginger, garlic and onion. See how you like it and then build from there. Add an ingredient the next time or swap out one of the veggies or the type of meat. Just keep experimenting a little at a time and I'm sure you'll find something amazing.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

My fav is Singapore Vermicelli