44
votes
Why do you add the ingredients in sequences when stir frying?
Stir frying is a relatively quick cooking process. Different ingredients often have different cooking times. You add ingredients at different times so that the longer cooking ingredients will have ...
- 73.8k
38
votes
Accepted
What are some good ways to treat frozen vegetables such that they behave like fresh vegetables when stir frying them?
The first thing is to do is thaw them properly before you cook them, half frozen vegetables will cool your pan too much. I often thaw frozen vegetables by soaking them in hot tap water, this is pretty ...
- 75.4k
33
votes
Accepted
How do HK restaurants keep wok-fried scallops white, with no visible sear marks?
Your scallops are (beautifully) seared on the outside because they are cooked all the way through in a very hot pan. The scallops in the Chinese stir fries stay pale because most of their cooking is ...
- 3,020
30
votes
How do HK restaurants keep wok-fried scallops white, with no visible sear marks?
The scallops in the first two photos were left on the pan, with no movement, to sear on one side before flipping. To achieve that caramelization takes a couple of minutes before turning. In fact, at ...
- 73.8k
16
votes
Accepted
Should you ever add aromatic veggies to a dish without sauteing them first?
If the recipes were truly interesting in 'releasing the flavors', they'd be sweating the onions, not sauteing them. Sauté is a higher-heat method that will cook the vegetables to create other ...
- 80k
12
votes
Is the water released from mushrooms during stir-frying edible?
The water from cooking mushrooms is good for flavour.
When making vegetarian pasta sauces, I often add mushrooms and their cooking water to the sauce, for example. These get well-fried, but not ...
- 43.7k
12
votes
Avoid charred marks when stir-frying with curry powder
I suspect you're seeing charred spices stuck to the veg.
A lot of stir frying advice assumes you want the veg lightly cooked, not softened very much. In that case you may well want to add the spice ...
- 43.7k
11
votes
Accepted
How to get heat high enough for stir fry?
I have never tried it but when I googled wok burners (thinking to find a standalone high-output gas hob), I found this article about a wok ring called the "WokMon" on Serious Eats and had to ...
- 16.5k
8
votes
Vegetarian replacement for pork mince in Chinese style stir fry
Let's recapitulate the textural options you have:
Crumbled firm tofu, sauteed (with or without some soy sauce and/or wheat paste - mind the color you want too!)
Brunoised/minced fresh/reconstituted ...
- 15.3k
8
votes
Accepted
How to cook multiple batches in a wok without things burning
I admit that I've spent too much time in Panda Express... but you can see their kitchens from the line and how they batch their food - often switching from a main dish to fried rice (with egg) and ...
- 16.5k
8
votes
Why are we frying in the oil, but not in any other liquid? (besides the temperature)
We do cook over 100C in a pressure cooker, but not enough to brown food, as this would take very high pressures. It probably wouldn't be safe or economical at home, and doesn't have enough of an ...
- 43.7k
7
votes
Accepted
How to stir fry frozen veggies?
The trick is to not use a wok at all. A wok works by concentrating a lot of heat on the bottom, more heat than you can achieve with a home stove. "Stir frying" moves the food from the cool sides of ...
- 4,436
7
votes
Accepted
Is there a rubric for what ingredients go into a Chinese stir fry?
Is there a rubric for what ingredients go into a Chinese stir fry?
Usually, some optional mixture of liquids, vegetables, noodles, fruits, and meats.
A bit of a facetious answer, but really- stir ...
- 1,234
6
votes
Accepted
What does "stir to cover" mean?
You cut off a little too much of the phrase; it's "add sauce and stir to cover and warm." You're stirring to cover the other ingredients with the sauce, and to warm the sauce.
- 58.2k
6
votes
Should you ever add aromatic veggies to a dish without sauteing them first?
That is really a matter of choice. If you cook the veggies for a while, they will also release their aromatics.... but they taste different. Especially if using onions. and especially if you sautee ...
- 1,387
6
votes
Why are we frying in the oil, but not in any other liquid? (besides the temperature)
Olestra is used to fry 'light' potato chips.
It's not a fat, and is indigestible.
It can cause cramping and other unfortunate effects.
Looks like it's hard to buy online too.
Using a high boiling ...
- 11.7k
6
votes
How do I make sure I don't overheat my teflon pan?
To best check temperature, you need a thermometer, and if you can, use a non-contact thermometer (infrared thermometer).
Teflon start degrading at around 260 °C (500 °F).
So check the pan ...
- 20.5k
5
votes
I followed the instructions, but my food still stuck to the wok
Stainless steel woks burn and stick very easily and are expensive and can't really be seasoned however they last forever. They are only used for foods that would attack a normal carbon steel wok and ...
- 51
5
votes
Accepted
Is it okay for oil to smoke in stir-fry?
Yes, there's smoke coming off the oil, but it's not heavy, black smoke.
If you're frying things, when I see that, it's a sign to either get the pan off the heat, or to get food into the pan to cool ...
- 80k
5
votes
Accepted
How to retain the smell of frying green onions/scallions in cooked dish?
You were probably having a dish with green onion oil, something I'd also recommend as a solution to the smell/taste you're looking for. It remains aromatic for a couple weeks after you make a batch ...
- 61.2k
5
votes
Accepted
Stir Frying Chicken, Correct Amount for 1 Pan
Cook the meat in batches, 2, 3 batches so that the pan will stay at an appropriate temperature.
When you add too much ingredients, meat, vegetables..., in a pan, the temperature will drop and instead ...
- 20.5k
4
votes
Should you ever add aromatic veggies to a dish without sauteing them first?
Thai soups (Tom Kha, Tom Yum etc) are an interesting counterexample - where shallots, peppers, onions ... are just thrown in the broth in many recipes. Moreover, there are lemongrass, galangal, kaffir ...
- 15.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Adding uncooked rice to a slow-cooked stir fry
You can certainly add rice to the slow cooker--but it will end up more like a rice stew, rather than a stir fry ("slow-cooked stir fry" is also an oxy-moron--the recipe that you link to is in fact a ...
- 56
4
votes
What are some good ways to treat frozen vegetables such that they behave like fresh vegetables when stir frying them?
If you don't feel like waiting for them to thaw, you can submerge the bag in hot water like @GdD mentioned.
I prefer steaming frozen vegetables however. The trick is properly steaming them though.
...
- 199
4
votes
Utensils for stir frying ground beef
I haven't cooked beef for a while, but a wooden spatula works very well, as it can break up clumps and is safe for non stick. I prefer the straight shape of the one I've got to any of my nylon ...
- 43.7k
4
votes
Is the water released from mushrooms during stir-frying edible?
Some of the water may hail from the tap water + salt that I cleaned the mushrooms with.
True. But depending on where you are, if your tap water is safe to drink after boiling, then it wouldn't be a ...
- 3,581
3
votes
Should I get a thin, flat bottomed wok to stir fry large amounts of veggies on an electric stove?
I'll try address your questions:
Firstly, woks should always be thin. The point of a wok is to get extremely hot at the bottom, without heat being conducted much up the sides. Thin is best for this
...
- 2,414
3
votes
Air Fryer effect on Vegetables?
Having experimented with an air fryer I think it's an alternative to stir frying, but not a particularly good one. An air fryer is basically a device that blows hot air on food as it slowly stirs it ...
- 75.4k
3
votes
How to make less salty Fermented Black Bean Stir Fry
There are two ways to reduce the saltiness of the finished dish: reduce the amount of salt you put in (in this case difficult, as it is in the sauce, so you'd have to put in less sauce) or increase ...
- 31
3
votes
Is there a rubric for what ingredients go into a Chinese stir fry?
There are 12 major Chinese cuisines in China, plus countless local specialties for each city and town. Outside China, there are many variations on expat Chinese cuisine, including Chinese-American, ...
- 61.2k
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