Category:Stir fried

This category contains recipes where primary method of cooking is stir-frying.

Stir frying

Stir frying (also stir-frying) is a centuries-old Asian cooking technique in which a traditional round-bottom iron pan called a wok is heated to a high temperature.

A small amount of cooking oil is then poured down the side of the wok (a traditional expression in China regarding this is "hot wok, cold oil"), followed by dry seasoning (including ginger and garlic), then at the first moment that the aroma of the seasoning can be detected, meats are added and agitated. Once the meat is seared, vegetables along with liquid ingredients (for example, often including premixed combinations of things like soy sauce, vinegar, wine, salt, sugar, and cornflour) are added.

The wok may then be covered for a moment so the water in the liquid ingredients can warm up the new ingredients as it steams off. To keep the meat juicy, the cook would usually take the seared meat out before vegetables are added, and put the meat back right before vegetables are done. In some dishes, or if the cooking conditions are inadequate, different components may be stir fried separately before being combined in the final dish (if, for example, the chef desires the taste and texture of the stir fried vegetables and meats to remain distinct).

The food is stirred and tossed out very quickly using wooden or metal cooking utensils. Some chefs will lift the wok to the side to let the flame light the oil or add a dash of wine spirit to give the food extra flavour. Using this method, many dishes can be cooked extremely quickly (within a minute).

Some dishes that require more time are cooked by adding a few dashes of water after the stirring. Then the wok is covered with a lid. As soon as steam starts to come out from under the lid, the dish is ready. In this case, the food is stir fried on high heat for flavour and then steamed to ensure that it is fully cooked.

See also

• Shallow frying, Frying
• Stir frying
• Sautéing, Sautéing
• Deep frying