Stir-Fry Tips & Tricks
Discussion
Hi,
Big lover of the easy to do stir-fry however I always feel the urge to add something extra i.e. drop a couple of chillies in there etc.
Anyone have any tips?
At the moment I am using a little veg oil, then sometimes use a splash of dark soy sauce, then sling some fresh egg noodles in and a pre-packed veg stir-fry then wack a sauce in normally hoi-sin or sweet chilli.
Big lover of the easy to do stir-fry however I always feel the urge to add something extra i.e. drop a couple of chillies in there etc.
Anyone have any tips?
At the moment I am using a little veg oil, then sometimes use a splash of dark soy sauce, then sling some fresh egg noodles in and a pre-packed veg stir-fry then wack a sauce in normally hoi-sin or sweet chilli.
its all in the prep for me
slice all the fresh veg as thin as you can making sure eveything is roughly the same depth
nice wide pan, leave it on the highest hottest burner you have for ages, then blob in a couple of tbsp of oil- wait til the oil is really smooking and fry the meat. set meat aside, fry veg using same tecnhiqe as above.
recombine and add nooodles right at the end, along with sauce of choice- i make a maen homea mde sweet and sour sauce
slice all the fresh veg as thin as you can making sure eveything is roughly the same depth
nice wide pan, leave it on the highest hottest burner you have for ages, then blob in a couple of tbsp of oil- wait til the oil is really smooking and fry the meat. set meat aside, fry veg using same tecnhiqe as above.
recombine and add nooodles right at the end, along with sauce of choice- i make a maen homea mde sweet and sour sauce
Stir frying is kind of my big love in cooking, so I have played around quite a lot. One thing that I think we (non-chinese just having a crack at chinese cooking) get wrong is that we assume wok cooking = stir frying = chinese food. In fact, stir frying in different ways can give you very very different results.
When I first started stir frying I would fry up aromatics (garlic, ginger etc), then chuck in meat and veg, add flavourings (e.g. soy sauce, rice wine) and keep stirring till all cooked. This tasted good, but the problem is you tend to end up with a soggy result as the water in teh veg and meat comes out resulting in the food poaching rather than frying in the oil. Also, it makes it hard to properly cook the meat without some of the vegetables losing their texture.
here are some of the tips I've figured out, they might or might not work for you but they work for me
1) Prepare everything first - stir frying is frequently QUICK and HOT - if you turn the heat down to stop something burning while you chop and ingredient, the end result wont be right (usually soggy).
2) use the right type of frying for the right ingredients. Most of the time when I stir fry meat, it goes in three stages - cook meat, prepare the flavour base, then add the liquid. Here's an example:
cook meat: dip chicken pieces in a soy and egg batter, deep fry (in batches, in an inch of oil)
prepare flavour base: wipe the wok, add a tablespoon of fresh oil, and stir fry ginger, garlic, chillies, and chilli bean sauce
add liquid: add a sauce of stock, soy, black beans, black rice vinegar, sesame oil and corn starch
finally, add the cooked chicken back to the pan to soak up the sauce. This way the sauce has time to simmer and develop flavours, and the meat is not overdone and gets a really sticky coating rather than a thin liquid.
In comparison, vegetables are generally stir fried extremely quickly at high heat (one minute tops!) then served immediately. examples:
get a small amount of oil smoking hot in a wok and add ginger and garlic. it should start to colour in 10 seconds, so immediately add torn iceberg lettuce and stir for 30 seconds. shake over soy sauce and serve immediately so it does not wilt!
3) Dont try too cook everything all at once - plan the cooking times. When you order in a chinese restaurant you tend to order quite a few dishes and mix them up on your plate - you can do this at home if you have followed tip one and two above, due to the speed of cooking! So you can prepare a nice rich simmered dish like Red Braised Pork or Ma Po Tofu, then wipe the wok clean and quickly fry your vegetables in less than a minute. Two very different textures and tastes on the table, not much more effort, rather than a "worst of both worlds" compromise.
4) Chinese food is as much about the cutting as the cooking. Cutting with or against the grain, into dice, strips, angled slices, etc all affect the flavour and texture. I still struggle to get this right, so its my aim this year to get this right. I probably need to take a knife-work course.
5) As mentioned above, deep fry then stir fry is a fantastic approach. It makes sure the meat is cooked first, and the crispy coating soaks up your sauce like a sponge. Try stir frying deep fried chicken, aubergine, squid, prawns, pork, tofu....
dont be put off deep frying in a wok. do it in small batches, in one or two inches of oil. take out the food as soon as the "bubbles" around it are less fierce - if you leave it in at this point the food will start to absorb the oil and be greasy. The bubbles around the food are the water escaping, and this pressure actually protects the food from the oil. A big tip to reduce how much the oil spits (which can be scary) is to make sure the food isnt wet when you put it in - for example, with aubergine, after you cut into slices, cover with salt to dry it out the wipe the salt off. It will spit much less.
6) Secret ingredients that really make a difference:
- chilli bean sauce (add it after ginger and garlic as the "flavour base" step)
- real fermented black beans (ban black bean sauce forever, try them and you will see why!)
- chiankiang black vinegar (sugar and vinegar makes a better sweet and sour than the HK-style sweet glop you get in takeways)
- corn starch (mixed 2:1 with water) 2 tablespoons of this will turn your sauce into a thick, rich coating from a thin liquid.
- sugar! a teaspoon of it really helps a lot of stir fry dishes, especially ones with vinegar and soy.
When I first started stir frying I would fry up aromatics (garlic, ginger etc), then chuck in meat and veg, add flavourings (e.g. soy sauce, rice wine) and keep stirring till all cooked. This tasted good, but the problem is you tend to end up with a soggy result as the water in teh veg and meat comes out resulting in the food poaching rather than frying in the oil. Also, it makes it hard to properly cook the meat without some of the vegetables losing their texture.
here are some of the tips I've figured out, they might or might not work for you but they work for me
1) Prepare everything first - stir frying is frequently QUICK and HOT - if you turn the heat down to stop something burning while you chop and ingredient, the end result wont be right (usually soggy).
2) use the right type of frying for the right ingredients. Most of the time when I stir fry meat, it goes in three stages - cook meat, prepare the flavour base, then add the liquid. Here's an example:
cook meat: dip chicken pieces in a soy and egg batter, deep fry (in batches, in an inch of oil)
prepare flavour base: wipe the wok, add a tablespoon of fresh oil, and stir fry ginger, garlic, chillies, and chilli bean sauce
add liquid: add a sauce of stock, soy, black beans, black rice vinegar, sesame oil and corn starch
finally, add the cooked chicken back to the pan to soak up the sauce. This way the sauce has time to simmer and develop flavours, and the meat is not overdone and gets a really sticky coating rather than a thin liquid.
In comparison, vegetables are generally stir fried extremely quickly at high heat (one minute tops!) then served immediately. examples:
get a small amount of oil smoking hot in a wok and add ginger and garlic. it should start to colour in 10 seconds, so immediately add torn iceberg lettuce and stir for 30 seconds. shake over soy sauce and serve immediately so it does not wilt!
3) Dont try too cook everything all at once - plan the cooking times. When you order in a chinese restaurant you tend to order quite a few dishes and mix them up on your plate - you can do this at home if you have followed tip one and two above, due to the speed of cooking! So you can prepare a nice rich simmered dish like Red Braised Pork or Ma Po Tofu, then wipe the wok clean and quickly fry your vegetables in less than a minute. Two very different textures and tastes on the table, not much more effort, rather than a "worst of both worlds" compromise.
4) Chinese food is as much about the cutting as the cooking. Cutting with or against the grain, into dice, strips, angled slices, etc all affect the flavour and texture. I still struggle to get this right, so its my aim this year to get this right. I probably need to take a knife-work course.
5) As mentioned above, deep fry then stir fry is a fantastic approach. It makes sure the meat is cooked first, and the crispy coating soaks up your sauce like a sponge. Try stir frying deep fried chicken, aubergine, squid, prawns, pork, tofu....
dont be put off deep frying in a wok. do it in small batches, in one or two inches of oil. take out the food as soon as the "bubbles" around it are less fierce - if you leave it in at this point the food will start to absorb the oil and be greasy. The bubbles around the food are the water escaping, and this pressure actually protects the food from the oil. A big tip to reduce how much the oil spits (which can be scary) is to make sure the food isnt wet when you put it in - for example, with aubergine, after you cut into slices, cover with salt to dry it out the wipe the salt off. It will spit much less.
6) Secret ingredients that really make a difference:
- chilli bean sauce (add it after ginger and garlic as the "flavour base" step)
- real fermented black beans (ban black bean sauce forever, try them and you will see why!)
- chiankiang black vinegar (sugar and vinegar makes a better sweet and sour than the HK-style sweet glop you get in takeways)
- corn starch (mixed 2:1 with water) 2 tablespoons of this will turn your sauce into a thick, rich coating from a thin liquid.
- sugar! a teaspoon of it really helps a lot of stir fry dishes, especially ones with vinegar and soy.
Wadeski said:
Stir frying is kind of my big love in cooking, so I have played around quite a lot. One thing that I think we (non-chinese just having a crack at chinese cooking) get wrong is that we assume wok cooking = stir frying = chinese food. In fact, stir frying in different ways can give you very very different results.
When I first started stir frying I would fry up aromatics (garlic, ginger etc), then chuck in meat and veg, add flavourings (e.g. soy sauce, rice wine) and keep stirring till all cooked. This tasted good, but the problem is you tend to end up with a soggy result as the water in teh veg and meat comes out resulting in the food poaching rather than frying in the oil. Also, it makes it hard to properly cook the meat without some of the vegetables losing their texture.
here are some of the tips I've figured out, they might or might not work for you but they work for me
1) Prepare everything first - stir frying is frequently QUICK and HOT - if you turn the heat down to stop something burning while you chop and ingredient, the end result wont be right (usually soggy).
2) use the right type of frying for the right ingredients. Most of the time when I stir fry meat, it goes in three stages - cook meat, prepare the flavour base, then add the liquid. Here's an example:
cook meat: dip chicken pieces in a soy and egg batter, deep fry (in batches, in an inch of oil)
prepare flavour base: wipe the wok, add a tablespoon of fresh oil, and stir fry ginger, garlic, chillies, and chilli bean sauce
add liquid: add a sauce of stock, soy, black beans, black rice vinegar, sesame oil and corn starch
finally, add the cooked chicken back to the pan to soak up the sauce. This way the sauce has time to simmer and develop flavours, and the meat is not overdone and gets a really sticky coating rather than a thin liquid.
In comparison, vegetables are generally stir fried extremely quickly at high heat (one minute tops!) then served immediately. examples:
get a small amount of oil smoking hot in a wok and add ginger and garlic. it should start to colour in 10 seconds, so immediately add torn iceberg lettuce and stir for 30 seconds. shake over soy sauce and serve immediately so it does not wilt!
3) Dont try too cook everything all at once - plan the cooking times. When you order in a chinese restaurant you tend to order quite a few dishes and mix them up on your plate - you can do this at home if you have followed tip one and two above, due to the speed of cooking! So you can prepare a nice rich simmered dish like Red Braised Pork or Ma Po Tofu, then wipe the wok clean and quickly fry your vegetables in less than a minute. Two very different textures and tastes on the table, not much more effort, rather than a "worst of both worlds" compromise.
4) Chinese food is as much about the cutting as the cooking. Cutting with or against the grain, into dice, strips, angled slices, etc all affect the flavour and texture. I still struggle to get this right, so its my aim this year to get this right. I probably need to take a knife-work course.
5) As mentioned above, deep fry then stir fry is a fantastic approach. It makes sure the meat is cooked first, and the crispy coating soaks up your sauce like a sponge. Try stir frying deep fried chicken, aubergine, squid, prawns, pork, tofu....
dont be put off deep frying in a wok. do it in small batches, in one or two inches of oil. take out the food as soon as the "bubbles" around it are less fierce - if you leave it in at this point the food will start to absorb the oil and be greasy. The bubbles around the food are the water escaping, and this pressure actually protects the food from the oil. A big tip to reduce how much the oil spits (which can be scary) is to make sure the food isnt wet when you put it in - for example, with aubergine, after you cut into slices, cover with salt to dry it out the wipe the salt off. It will spit much less.
6) Secret ingredients that really make a difference:
- chilli bean sauce (add it after ginger and garlic as the "flavour base" step)
- real fermented black beans (ban black bean sauce forever, try them and you will see why!)
- chiankiang black vinegar (sugar and vinegar makes a better sweet and sour than the HK-style sweet glop you get in takeways)
- corn starch (mixed 2:1 with water) 2 tablespoons of this will turn your sauce into a thick, rich coating from a thin liquid.
- sugar! a teaspoon of it really helps a lot of stir fry dishes, especially ones with vinegar and soy.
Super post, alot of tried and well researched info!! I tend to steam a lot of green vegetables, like pAk Choi , easy to do and make a big difference to the end result. Also I tend to use corn or nut oils as oppossed to vegetable oil. Obvikoulsy the burning temps are different but if you work at it the flavours make a big difference. Never use Olive Oils in Chinese cooking in my opinion.When I first started stir frying I would fry up aromatics (garlic, ginger etc), then chuck in meat and veg, add flavourings (e.g. soy sauce, rice wine) and keep stirring till all cooked. This tasted good, but the problem is you tend to end up with a soggy result as the water in teh veg and meat comes out resulting in the food poaching rather than frying in the oil. Also, it makes it hard to properly cook the meat without some of the vegetables losing their texture.
here are some of the tips I've figured out, they might or might not work for you but they work for me
1) Prepare everything first - stir frying is frequently QUICK and HOT - if you turn the heat down to stop something burning while you chop and ingredient, the end result wont be right (usually soggy).
2) use the right type of frying for the right ingredients. Most of the time when I stir fry meat, it goes in three stages - cook meat, prepare the flavour base, then add the liquid. Here's an example:
cook meat: dip chicken pieces in a soy and egg batter, deep fry (in batches, in an inch of oil)
prepare flavour base: wipe the wok, add a tablespoon of fresh oil, and stir fry ginger, garlic, chillies, and chilli bean sauce
add liquid: add a sauce of stock, soy, black beans, black rice vinegar, sesame oil and corn starch
finally, add the cooked chicken back to the pan to soak up the sauce. This way the sauce has time to simmer and develop flavours, and the meat is not overdone and gets a really sticky coating rather than a thin liquid.
In comparison, vegetables are generally stir fried extremely quickly at high heat (one minute tops!) then served immediately. examples:
get a small amount of oil smoking hot in a wok and add ginger and garlic. it should start to colour in 10 seconds, so immediately add torn iceberg lettuce and stir for 30 seconds. shake over soy sauce and serve immediately so it does not wilt!
3) Dont try too cook everything all at once - plan the cooking times. When you order in a chinese restaurant you tend to order quite a few dishes and mix them up on your plate - you can do this at home if you have followed tip one and two above, due to the speed of cooking! So you can prepare a nice rich simmered dish like Red Braised Pork or Ma Po Tofu, then wipe the wok clean and quickly fry your vegetables in less than a minute. Two very different textures and tastes on the table, not much more effort, rather than a "worst of both worlds" compromise.
4) Chinese food is as much about the cutting as the cooking. Cutting with or against the grain, into dice, strips, angled slices, etc all affect the flavour and texture. I still struggle to get this right, so its my aim this year to get this right. I probably need to take a knife-work course.
5) As mentioned above, deep fry then stir fry is a fantastic approach. It makes sure the meat is cooked first, and the crispy coating soaks up your sauce like a sponge. Try stir frying deep fried chicken, aubergine, squid, prawns, pork, tofu....
dont be put off deep frying in a wok. do it in small batches, in one or two inches of oil. take out the food as soon as the "bubbles" around it are less fierce - if you leave it in at this point the food will start to absorb the oil and be greasy. The bubbles around the food are the water escaping, and this pressure actually protects the food from the oil. A big tip to reduce how much the oil spits (which can be scary) is to make sure the food isnt wet when you put it in - for example, with aubergine, after you cut into slices, cover with salt to dry it out the wipe the salt off. It will spit much less.
6) Secret ingredients that really make a difference:
- chilli bean sauce (add it after ginger and garlic as the "flavour base" step)
- real fermented black beans (ban black bean sauce forever, try them and you will see why!)
- chiankiang black vinegar (sugar and vinegar makes a better sweet and sour than the HK-style sweet glop you get in takeways)
- corn starch (mixed 2:1 with water) 2 tablespoons of this will turn your sauce into a thick, rich coating from a thin liquid.
- sugar! a teaspoon of it really helps a lot of stir fry dishes, especially ones with vinegar and soy.
Also with meats like Chicken and Pork, many Chinese firstly braise the meat in hot water, not boiling as such but it slowly cooks the meat through and you can still marinate it afterwards and this process tends to make the meat much more tender .Its well worth doing with cheaper chicken cuts like thighs and joints as after braising you can strip off the meat in small strips, very good for noodle dishes etc.
Also to do it properly you must have Chinese rice wine and a good sweet vinegar, or dry Sherry.
Watch-Collector
Edited by Watch-Collector on Tuesday 24th February 12:02
Stir frys are actually very hit and miss for me. They either some out brilliant, or come out very very average and a great disappointment.
I tend to use a base of ingredients ie finely chopped garlic, finely chopped ginger, finely chopped deseeded red chillis and soy sauce (and maybe some lemongrass if I have it about). Finely sliced carrots and peppers and spring onions for the veg, choice of meat, egg noodles and a handful of beansprouts to complete the meal.
That in itself can give a great result (especially with pork that has been marinated) or with a sauce if I have one in the cupboard. But the same ingredients can go horribly wrong for some reason.
As above, I think the best bits of advice are
1. Minimise water from meat and veg to virtually zero. A soggy stir fry with a puddle on the plate is no fun.
2. Hot and quick. Cook quickly. Don't be tempted to let it sit for periods.
3. Marinate meat/fish.
I tend to use a base of ingredients ie finely chopped garlic, finely chopped ginger, finely chopped deseeded red chillis and soy sauce (and maybe some lemongrass if I have it about). Finely sliced carrots and peppers and spring onions for the veg, choice of meat, egg noodles and a handful of beansprouts to complete the meal.
That in itself can give a great result (especially with pork that has been marinated) or with a sauce if I have one in the cupboard. But the same ingredients can go horribly wrong for some reason.
As above, I think the best bits of advice are
1. Minimise water from meat and veg to virtually zero. A soggy stir fry with a puddle on the plate is no fun.
2. Hot and quick. Cook quickly. Don't be tempted to let it sit for periods.
3. Marinate meat/fish.
Wadeski said:
Stir frying is kind of my big love in cooking, so I have played around quite a lot. One thing that I think we (non-chinese just having a crack at chinese cooking) get wrong is that we assume wok cooking = stir frying = chinese food. In fact, stir frying in different ways can give you very very different results.
When I first started stir frying I would fry up aromatics (garlic, ginger etc), then chuck in meat and veg, add flavourings (e.g. soy sauce, rice wine) and keep stirring till all cooked. This tasted good, but the problem is you tend to end up with a soggy result as the water in teh veg and meat comes out resulting in the food poaching rather than frying in the oil. Also, it makes it hard to properly cook the meat without some of the vegetables losing their texture.
here are some of the tips I've figured out, they might or might not work for you but they work for me
1) Prepare everything first - stir frying is frequently QUICK and HOT - if you turn the heat down to stop something burning while you chop and ingredient, the end result wont be right (usually soggy).
2) use the right type of frying for the right ingredients. Most of the time when I stir fry meat, it goes in three stages - cook meat, prepare the flavour base, then add the liquid. Here's an example:
cook meat: dip chicken pieces in a soy and egg batter, deep fry (in batches, in an inch of oil)
prepare flavour base: wipe the wok, add a tablespoon of fresh oil, and stir fry ginger, garlic, chillies, and chilli bean sauce
add liquid: add a sauce of stock, soy, black beans, black rice vinegar, sesame oil and corn starch
finally, add the cooked chicken back to the pan to soak up the sauce. This way the sauce has time to simmer and develop flavours, and the meat is not overdone and gets a really sticky coating rather than a thin liquid.
In comparison, vegetables are generally stir fried extremely quickly at high heat (one minute tops!) then served immediately. examples:
get a small amount of oil smoking hot in a wok and add ginger and garlic. it should start to colour in 10 seconds, so immediately add torn iceberg lettuce and stir for 30 seconds. shake over soy sauce and serve immediately so it does not wilt!
3) Dont try too cook everything all at once - plan the cooking times. When you order in a chinese restaurant you tend to order quite a few dishes and mix them up on your plate - you can do this at home if you have followed tip one and two above, due to the speed of cooking! So you can prepare a nice rich simmered dish like Red Braised Pork or Ma Po Tofu, then wipe the wok clean and quickly fry your vegetables in less than a minute. Two very different textures and tastes on the table, not much more effort, rather than a "worst of both worlds" compromise.
4) Chinese food is as much about the cutting as the cooking. Cutting with or against the grain, into dice, strips, angled slices, etc all affect the flavour and texture. I still struggle to get this right, so its my aim this year to get this right. I probably need to take a knife-work course.
5) As mentioned above, deep fry then stir fry is a fantastic approach. It makes sure the meat is cooked first, and the crispy coating soaks up your sauce like a sponge. Try stir frying deep fried chicken, aubergine, squid, prawns, pork, tofu....
dont be put off deep frying in a wok. do it in small batches, in one or two inches of oil. take out the food as soon as the "bubbles" around it are less fierce - if you leave it in at this point the food will start to absorb the oil and be greasy. The bubbles around the food are the water escaping, and this pressure actually protects the food from the oil. A big tip to reduce how much the oil spits (which can be scary) is to make sure the food isnt wet when you put it in - for example, with aubergine, after you cut into slices, cover with salt to dry it out the wipe the salt off. It will spit much less.
6) Secret ingredients that really make a difference:
- chilli bean sauce (add it after ginger and garlic as the "flavour base" step)
- real fermented black beans (ban black bean sauce forever, try them and you will see why!)
- chiankiang black vinegar (sugar and vinegar makes a better sweet and sour than the HK-style sweet glop you get in takeways)
- corn starch (mixed 2:1 with water) 2 tablespoons of this will turn your sauce into a thick, rich coating from a thin liquid.
- sugar! a teaspoon of it really helps a lot of stir fry dishes, especially ones with vinegar and soy.
Thanks that is a really helpful post. I shall try your suggestions and see what results I achieve. What Wok do you use? I need a new one...When I first started stir frying I would fry up aromatics (garlic, ginger etc), then chuck in meat and veg, add flavourings (e.g. soy sauce, rice wine) and keep stirring till all cooked. This tasted good, but the problem is you tend to end up with a soggy result as the water in teh veg and meat comes out resulting in the food poaching rather than frying in the oil. Also, it makes it hard to properly cook the meat without some of the vegetables losing their texture.
here are some of the tips I've figured out, they might or might not work for you but they work for me
1) Prepare everything first - stir frying is frequently QUICK and HOT - if you turn the heat down to stop something burning while you chop and ingredient, the end result wont be right (usually soggy).
2) use the right type of frying for the right ingredients. Most of the time when I stir fry meat, it goes in three stages - cook meat, prepare the flavour base, then add the liquid. Here's an example:
cook meat: dip chicken pieces in a soy and egg batter, deep fry (in batches, in an inch of oil)
prepare flavour base: wipe the wok, add a tablespoon of fresh oil, and stir fry ginger, garlic, chillies, and chilli bean sauce
add liquid: add a sauce of stock, soy, black beans, black rice vinegar, sesame oil and corn starch
finally, add the cooked chicken back to the pan to soak up the sauce. This way the sauce has time to simmer and develop flavours, and the meat is not overdone and gets a really sticky coating rather than a thin liquid.
In comparison, vegetables are generally stir fried extremely quickly at high heat (one minute tops!) then served immediately. examples:
get a small amount of oil smoking hot in a wok and add ginger and garlic. it should start to colour in 10 seconds, so immediately add torn iceberg lettuce and stir for 30 seconds. shake over soy sauce and serve immediately so it does not wilt!
3) Dont try too cook everything all at once - plan the cooking times. When you order in a chinese restaurant you tend to order quite a few dishes and mix them up on your plate - you can do this at home if you have followed tip one and two above, due to the speed of cooking! So you can prepare a nice rich simmered dish like Red Braised Pork or Ma Po Tofu, then wipe the wok clean and quickly fry your vegetables in less than a minute. Two very different textures and tastes on the table, not much more effort, rather than a "worst of both worlds" compromise.
4) Chinese food is as much about the cutting as the cooking. Cutting with or against the grain, into dice, strips, angled slices, etc all affect the flavour and texture. I still struggle to get this right, so its my aim this year to get this right. I probably need to take a knife-work course.
5) As mentioned above, deep fry then stir fry is a fantastic approach. It makes sure the meat is cooked first, and the crispy coating soaks up your sauce like a sponge. Try stir frying deep fried chicken, aubergine, squid, prawns, pork, tofu....
dont be put off deep frying in a wok. do it in small batches, in one or two inches of oil. take out the food as soon as the "bubbles" around it are less fierce - if you leave it in at this point the food will start to absorb the oil and be greasy. The bubbles around the food are the water escaping, and this pressure actually protects the food from the oil. A big tip to reduce how much the oil spits (which can be scary) is to make sure the food isnt wet when you put it in - for example, with aubergine, after you cut into slices, cover with salt to dry it out the wipe the salt off. It will spit much less.
6) Secret ingredients that really make a difference:
- chilli bean sauce (add it after ginger and garlic as the "flavour base" step)
- real fermented black beans (ban black bean sauce forever, try them and you will see why!)
- chiankiang black vinegar (sugar and vinegar makes a better sweet and sour than the HK-style sweet glop you get in takeways)
- corn starch (mixed 2:1 with water) 2 tablespoons of this will turn your sauce into a thick, rich coating from a thin liquid.
- sugar! a teaspoon of it really helps a lot of stir fry dishes, especially ones with vinegar and soy.
The last few months I've been using a simple Ken Hom teflon one - it works fine. I've never been faffed to use a cast iron one, even though its more authentic. I think you need to be a bit OCD to take care of it properly (seasoning and cleaning is a pain in the arse!).
Another good tip is not to overcrowd things - if it looks like you will have a "full" wok, you wont be able to move the food around, and the bottom will wilt and burn by the time the top is warm.
Split things up - you can do two or three dishes if the last ones take 1 minute each...
Another good tip is not to overcrowd things - if it looks like you will have a "full" wok, you wont be able to move the food around, and the bottom will wilt and burn by the time the top is warm.
Split things up - you can do two or three dishes if the last ones take 1 minute each...
Wadeski's post is great. Hot-and-quick is definitely the key, and I'm slowly finding that cutting and textures make a big difference. Work out what takes how long to cook, then add the items in at about the right time.
From me:-
- DO NOT get the oil smoking. If you do, it's burnt, which has broken down some of the molecular chains in the oil, reducing the 'good' effects of olive/sunflower oil and IIRC actually creating some bad ones.
- Fresh ginger. Lovely stuff. Cut away the skin and then rub (WITH the grain/fibre) over the coarse side of a cheese-grater (i.e. as if you were grating a lump of cheddar). About 1 heaped tsp of grated ginger is probably enough for 2 people.
- Experiment with other FRESH ingredients, e.g. lemongrass for a Thai edge to a dish (peel outer layer, cut into ~2/3 inch to 1-inch lengths, then "break" with the flat of a knife (like skin-on-garlic) to release the flavour. Remove before serving, and don't overdo it!). Fresh stuff does taste a lot better than powders or purees.
- For 2-4 people a frying pan is probably as good as a wok, regardless of what the snobs say.
From me:-
- DO NOT get the oil smoking. If you do, it's burnt, which has broken down some of the molecular chains in the oil, reducing the 'good' effects of olive/sunflower oil and IIRC actually creating some bad ones.
- Fresh ginger. Lovely stuff. Cut away the skin and then rub (WITH the grain/fibre) over the coarse side of a cheese-grater (i.e. as if you were grating a lump of cheddar). About 1 heaped tsp of grated ginger is probably enough for 2 people.
- Experiment with other FRESH ingredients, e.g. lemongrass for a Thai edge to a dish (peel outer layer, cut into ~2/3 inch to 1-inch lengths, then "break" with the flat of a knife (like skin-on-garlic) to release the flavour. Remove before serving, and don't overdo it!). Fresh stuff does taste a lot better than powders or purees.
- For 2-4 people a frying pan is probably as good as a wok, regardless of what the snobs say.
I have never used a Teflon WOk. the normal iron ones/steel are fine IMO. After use I dry it completely and then burn off some oil by rubbing it over the pan on a high heat , wipe clean , allow to cool and the fit for use again. It might seem anal but its so much easier to use in the long run. Ive had my main Wok for over 15 years!!
Also I feel strongly about this.... Never use Olive Oil to Stir fry Chinese food. Just not the right taste and temp. If you use any sort of Olive oil to stir fry or fry do not use Extra Virgin. Just use the Bog standard cheap Olive oil. Decent Olive Oil/Extr Virgin etc is meant for dressings / vinaigrettes and maybe marinades.
It can be mixed with other oils but for Chinese its a strict nut/corn/veg oil. They can be mixed again.
Also if your going to make a decent SFry , buy frsh veg and chop yourself exactly like Wadeski describes, pre-packed chopped stuff lacks the vigour and flavour of fresh.
Watch-Collector
Also I feel strongly about this.... Never use Olive Oil to Stir fry Chinese food. Just not the right taste and temp. If you use any sort of Olive oil to stir fry or fry do not use Extra Virgin. Just use the Bog standard cheap Olive oil. Decent Olive Oil/Extr Virgin etc is meant for dressings / vinaigrettes and maybe marinades.
It can be mixed with other oils but for Chinese its a strict nut/corn/veg oil. They can be mixed again.
Also if your going to make a decent SFry , buy frsh veg and chop yourself exactly like Wadeski describes, pre-packed chopped stuff lacks the vigour and flavour of fresh.
Watch-Collector
Edited by Watch-Collector on Wednesday 25th February 00:24
on oils, I find peanut (also called groundnut) oil gives the best flavour and has a very high flashpoint which is safe for deep frying.
another useful thing to make is your own chilli oil:
heat one "jars worth" of oil (since you need to put it in the jar later!) in your wok
in a deep, heatproof, (pottery is good) bowl combine 2tbsp dried sichuan chillies with 1 tbsp fresh mild chillies (milder is better for this) and 1 tsp fresh sliced ginger with the skin on.
when the oil is hot enough to fry (Tip - to test whether oil is hot, dip the end of a wooden chopstick into it. If it bubbles instantly, the oil is hot) carefull pour it into the heatproof bowl. you can use a ladle if you feel its safer.
leave the chilli oil to cool and keep in the jar in the fridge for up to a month. I like the oil to be mild so you can use lots of it.
another useful thing to make is your own chilli oil:
heat one "jars worth" of oil (since you need to put it in the jar later!) in your wok
in a deep, heatproof, (pottery is good) bowl combine 2tbsp dried sichuan chillies with 1 tbsp fresh mild chillies (milder is better for this) and 1 tsp fresh sliced ginger with the skin on.
when the oil is hot enough to fry (Tip - to test whether oil is hot, dip the end of a wooden chopstick into it. If it bubbles instantly, the oil is hot) carefull pour it into the heatproof bowl. you can use a ladle if you feel its safer.
leave the chilli oil to cool and keep in the jar in the fridge for up to a month. I like the oil to be mild so you can use lots of it.
sleep envy said:
be careful with home made chilli oil, one PHer poisoned himself with botulism growing in his home made oil
Not when you use oil at 250*C 
Botulism is a risk when you just chuck fresh chillies in oil and leave it for two weeks. Trust me this will nuke any bacteria in there!
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