Stir-frying (Step-by-step) - ~WanitaOnline.Com Friendship Forum~

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TOPIC: Stir-frying (Step-by-step)

Lina

Date: Aug 5, 2004

Stir-frying (Step-by-step)	Permalink

Stir-frying courtesy of familywok.com If any technique in Chinese cooking demands proper preparation, it is stir-frying. Because the heat has to be high and there is little actual cooking time, it's crucial to have all your ingredients assembled beforehand. The best advice I can give here is to keep your stir-fry ingredients separated in bowls based on how much time they need in your wok. So chop your onions, meat, mushrooms, carrots, and peppers into small pieces and separate them. You want the veggies and meat to be in bite size pieces for two reasons. First, the stir-fry will be appealing and easy to eat if all of the components are equal in size. Secondly, similar size pieces will insure more uniform cooking time. Saucing the Stir Fry There are several techniques for making a flavorful sauce for stir-fry. Some include a touch of cornstarch for thickening. Toss chunks of meat, poultry or seafood in cornstarch before cooking or add a touch of cornstarch mixed with water to the sauce before cooking. In both cases, you want to make sure that the cornstarch has time to cook in order to produce a smooth and shiny sauce. All at once sauce is one that I use quite often, give it a try. Stir-fry Technique 1 Heat the wok over high heat. Until wok is steaming hot. Place a small amount of oil in the bottom of the wok. (Olive oil is fine. Peanut oil and sesame oil add a very distinctive flavor.) The oil will smoke slightly. You may want to add slices of garlic or ginger to the oil to infuse it with flavor. Fresh herbs tossed into the hot oil will also impart their essence into the dish. As the herb begins to brown, move the pieces out of the oil and up the sides of the walk to slow the cooking process. 2 Next, add the ingredient that will take the most time to cook. In most cases this will be meat or poultry. Cook until the or poultry begin to brown on all sides. This will begin the tenderizing process. You may notice that some liquid forms at the bottom of your wok when you are cooking the meat or poultry. This is may happen if the wok is not hot enough or because you try to cook too much meat at one time. When this happens to me I scoop the liquid into my all in one sauce to add flavor. 3 At this point, you may push these meat up the sides of the wok, or remove them to a dish while you continue with the recipe. With your wok empty you can now add more oil and start the process over with the vegetables and stir until they are just crisp tender. I have seen people using a squirt bottle to shoot water into the wok to create steam then cover. I have tryed this method and it works fine, however I have not see much writen about doing this. 4 Add the meat or poultry back into the wok. Add other needed ingredients that the recipe requires like rice or noodles in wok. Pour in "All in One Sauce" or the sauce the recipe calls for. Stir to coat all of the ingredients. Cook until sauce is at desired thickness. All in One Stir fry Sauce All in one sauce is a pre-made sauce that can be added to your stir fry, which will add flavor to the entire dish. You can buy commercially made stir-fry sauce in most grocery stores, but hey that takes the fun out of cooking, besides it limits the dishes that you can make. The basic stir fry sauce formula is vary simple and is the foundation you use to build dozens and dozens of different stir-fry sauces. Basic Sauce 1 cup of broth (Beef, Chicken or Vegetable) 2 tsp. Soy or Tereoke sauce 2 Tbs. Corn Starch (for thickening) Extra Ingredients You can stop with the base but it would taste a bit blaine. There are so many different ingredients you could add to really give your stir-fry that authentic oriental flavor. Ginger (a little goes a long way) Five Spice Garlic Black Bean Sauce Hoisin Sauce Curry Your imagination is your limit. Here are some that I came up with Give them a try and make some of your own. Then let the world give them a try. STIR FRY SAUCES Ginger Chicken Ingredients: 1 Cup Chicken Broth 2 Tbs. Tereoke sauce 1/4 tsp. Ginger Poweder 1/4 tsp. Ground Garilc 2 Tbs.Corn Starch Directions Mix all ingredeance in a Walnut Chicken: Ingredients: 1 Tbsp Teriyaki sauce 1 Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tbsp sherry Dash Tabasco sauce 2 Tbsp cornstarch Directions Just whisk everything together. BASIC STIR FRY SAUCE Ingredients: 1 1/ 2 tsp. sesame oil 1/ 2 tsp. minced garlic 1/ 2 tsp. minced ginger 1/ 2 cup chicken broth 1 Tbs. soy sauce 1 Tbs. brown sugar 1/ 8 tsp. Tabasco 1/ 2 tsp. salt 1/ 4 tsp. pepper 1 1/ 2 tsp. lemon or lime juice 1 1/ 2 tsp.cornstarch 1 Tbs. rice wine or sherry Directions Heat the sesame oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry 15-30 second over medium heat to bring out the flavor. Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bring just to a boil, stirring. Dissolve the cornstarch in the wine and whisk into the sauce. Heat until sauce thickens and reaches a full boil. Simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside. GARLIC SESAME STIR FRY SAUCE Ingredients: 1/ 2 tsp. pepper 2 Tbs. soy sauce 3 Tbs. chicken broth 1 Tbs. sugar 2 1/ 4 tsp. lemon juice 1/ 3 cup sesame oil 2 1/ 4 tsp. minced garlic 1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 1/ 2 tsp. water Directions Combine the pepper, soy sauce, chicken broth, sugar and lemon juice. In a small saucepan heat the sesame oil. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute until soft but not browned. Add the soy sauce mixture and bring just to a boil. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let boil 20 seconds. Remove from the heat. Chicken and pea pods: Ingredients: 1/2 cup rice vinegar 1/4 cup honey 2 Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tbsp grated orange zest 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes Directions Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil, then remove from heat. Add zest and red pepper just before pouring over chicken in wok. Cashew Chicken Sauce: Ingredients: 2 teaspoons rice wine or sweet white wine 1 egg white 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon salt 3 teaspoons soy sauce Dash each black pepper and sugar Optional: a little Tabasco or red pepper flakes Directions Marinate chicken in sauce 10 minutes before stir-frying. SZECHUAN STIR FRY SAUCE Ingredients: 1 1/ 2 tsp. sesame oil 1/ 2 tsp. minced fresh ginger 1/ 2 tsp. minced garlic 1/ 2 cup chicken broth 2 whole anise stars 1 1/ 2 tsp. red wine vinegar 1 Tbs. soy sauce 1/ 2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. hoisin sauce 1/8 tsp. Tabasco sauce 1/ 8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 1/ 4 tsp. pepper 1/ 8 tsp. 5 spice powder 2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbs. water Directions Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and saute 1 minute until softened but not browned. In a bowl combine the remaining except for the cornstarch mixture. Add them to the saucepan andbring to a simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove star anise. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let boil 1-2 minutes. Taste and add more Tabasco if desired. __________________

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