American and European stovetops are designed for flat bottom pots and pans, not the curved bottoms of Chinese woks. So in order to achieve a perfect stir-fry, ditch the wok and grab your largest skillet.
By following the master recipe below you can customize a stir-fry to your particular tastes. Select items from the categories below, which have been grouped together based on their cooking times.
Master Skillet Sauté Recipe (aka Stir-Fry)
Serves 4
1 pound MEAT, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Mirin or dry sherry
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
3/4 pound FIRM VEGETABLES, thinly sliced or chopped
3/4 pound SOFT VEGETABLES, thinly sliced or chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
SAUCE from list below (or 1/2 cup of your favorite sauce)
1/2 cup optional STIR-INS
Toss MEAT, soy sauce and Mirin together and let sit at room temperature 15 minutes.
Heat large skillet, preferably non-stick, over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and heat a few seconds before adding drained MEAT. Stirring constantly, cook MEAT until almost fully cooked. (Meat will finish cooking at the end so don’t worry about undercooked chicken.) Remove MEAT to bowl and set aside.
Reheat skillet and add 1 teaspoon oil. Add FIRM VEGETABLES and cook, stirring constantly, until almost done. The amount of time will vary depending on the vegetable so just keep trying them to see how far along they are. Push vegetables to outside edge of pan; add 1 teaspoon oil and SOFT VEGETABLES. Cook, stirring constantly in center of pan until almost cooked. Mix in vegetables from outside edge to combine and cook until vegetables are cooked.
Push all vegetables to outside edge, add 1 teaspoon oil and add garlic and ginger and cook, 15 seconds before mixing in all vegetables. Add desired SAUCE, STIR-INS and MEAT, along with any juices in bowl. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is bubbly and MEAT is fully cooked. Serve immediately.
MEAT
Chicken
Beef
Pork
Shrimp
FIRM VEGETABLES
Broccoli Carrots
Bell Peppers Green Beans
SOFT VEGETABLES
Onions Shiitake Mushrooms Snow Peas
Asparagus Summer squash/zucchini
STIR-INS
Pineapple chunks Bamboo shoots Tofu
Mandarin range slices Water chestnuts Baby corn
Chopped green onions
BASE SAUCES
Before starting your stir-fry, pick a sauce and stir together the ingredients in a small bowl so it’s ready to go when you need it.
Sweet-n-Sour Sauce
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons rice wine or cider vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
Hot-n-Sour Sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon chopped chili pepper (jalapeño, habanero, etc)
1 teaspoon hot bean paste (optional)
Ginger Garlic Sauce
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons Mirin, dry sherry or dry white wine
1 tablespoon chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
Szechwan Sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons Mirin, dry sherry or dry white wine
1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
Tangy Lime Sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon lime zest
A Few of my Favorite Combinations:
Pork + Red Bell Peppers + Snow Peas+ Bamboo Shoots + Szechwan Sauce
Chicken + Broccoli + Onions + Bamboo Shoots + Ginger Garlic Sauce
Beef + Bell pepper + Onions + Ginger Garlic Sauce + Baby Corn
Shrimp + Onions + Zucchini + Tangy Lime Sauce + Water Chestnuts
This one's headed straight for my recipe file! (I'll be so impressed with myself when I make my own sauces:)
Posted by: valerieluesse | 06/21/2011 at 06:23 AM