How do I do a stir-fry as is done at those teriyaki places, where they cook the meat and warm the veggies on a hot metal plate? It looks simple enough, but I just don’t know how.
You can use a frying pan (or better yet, a wok) on your stovetop. Use a medium heat, and put in one or two teaspoons of a light oil, like olive or canola. Dump in your chunks of meat, and stir them occasionally until they just begin to brown all over, then dump in your veggies. Continue stirring occasionally until the veggies are tender. At this point you can add your sauce (La Choy has a number of varieties at your favorite supermarket). There’s really nothing to it.
Great, thanks! I knew it wasn’t huge.
BTW, would flax oil work? I’ve seen a number of people talking about it from a health point of view, but I’m not sure whether it would work well in a heating context.
Why is a wok better than a frying pan?
<plans to go shopping tomorrow…>
More elbow room. When you are stirring things around like crazy, its high sides keep you from flinging stuff all over creation.
I have a wok which goes right on the stove, it has a ring that it sits in so that it is a couple of inches above the element.
According to my other half, flax oil has a very strong taste that would make it unsuitable for cooking. Unless flax oil is a different product in Canada, I wouldn’t recommend it. Normally we use canola oil (normal vegetable oil), or, for the taste, sesame oil. Olive oil is fine but the flavour doesn’t suit every dish (particularly the nicer extra virgin olive oils).
A wok is “better” inasmuch as it’s easier to stir with a deeper pan. I’m not sure if it heats better; not my area of expertise.
Unless you have a gas stove, I wouldn’t recommend bothering with a wok. On an electric stove,woks heat very unevenly with the sides not helping to cook. Woks were designed to go over a fire, so a gas stove can heat the sides as needed.
One very important thing is to cut up everything and have it already at the beginning, or you won’t be able to cook it so everything gets done at the same time.
A wok is deeper and holds more. It also holds the heat evenly. I recommend buying a steel wok that goes on your stovetop, rather than a teflon electric wok. They just don’t get hot enough.
Now, the steel wok is going to need to be seasoned before you use it, unless you buy one that is stainless. You season them by boiling water in them to remove machining oils from the factory. When dry, wipe with a light coat of cooking oil to prevent rust.
After cooking, wash gently to remove food, but don’t scrape or scour the pan. Dry thoroughly and coat with oil.
I prefer to cook at a higher temperature than does Q.E.D.. I like to flash-fry the meat in thin slices and remove it when it is just done. Cook the vegetables in groups: hard, dense veggies like carrots and water chestnuts first, then remove from the pan and do your onions, celery, or what have you.
You do NOT want to cook these until they are soft and mushy. Vegetables in Asian cooking should be crisp, but cooked. Items like green or red peppers should only be fried until their color is bright.
Use small amounts of oil (I like sesame oil) and remove the food items after frying so they can drain off excess oil. When everything is cooked, return them to the wok with the sauce mentioned, and cook until heated through. Serve on hot rice, preferably Basmati.
After the oil has been added to the pan, you must allow it to heat first. Otherwise, the food will absorb the oil and never fry correctly. Listen to the oil as it heats. Is it making mild “clicking” noises? Sprinkle (only) a drop of water into the pan. Does it sizzle right away? If it does, you’re ready to cook.
When making a stir-fry, be sure to cut your vegetables into similar sized pieces. This will ensure that they all finish cooking at the same time. If you have one ingredient that takes longer to cook than the rest, add that to the pan first.
For best results, a high smoke-point oil like peanut oil is preferred to ordinary vegetable oil, but it is not essential. Avoid adding any sauce or liquid to the pan until everything is completely cooked through. For real restaurant style results, you may wish to check into “silking” the meats being used.
Feel free to post more cooking questions.
Another tip is to cut the veggies smaller if they take longer to cook. For example, since carrots and broccoli take longer to cook than bell peppers, for example, cut them smaller. That way you can throw all the veggies in at once and they will be done at roughly the same time, rather than cooking them in groups. I find it easier, but it will take some experimenting until you get a feel for it.
As for sauce and seasonings, thinly sliced beef goes extremely well with chopped garlic and ginger (I give the chopped garlic and ginger a bit of a headstart, then cook the meat with them. When the meat is done, I take it out and do the veggies, adding the meat again at the end). Bought sauce is good, but making your own is simple : just mix about 1/2 c. water with about 1 tablespoon cornstarch, then add spoonfuls of soy sauce, hoisin sauce, black bean sauce, sesame oil (only a little! it’s very strong tasting), chili sauce, etc. Experiment with different tastes.
I usually serve with rice or noodles, but sometimes for a change, I add the cooked noodles right into the stirfry.
I know it has a bad rep, but if you’re not allergic to it, throw in some MSG to really get the bright colourful veggies. I use the seasoning packets from ramen noodles, about half a packet per 3-4 servings of stir fry. For taste, if you’re worried about such things, use salt/ non-msp stock/ whatever instead, but if you want your veggies to stay colourful, use msg 
Harriet, I wish I had a gas stove. We grew up with gas stoves (my dad worked for the gas company), and I never appreciated them until I moved out…
I have no wok, just a frying pan. On an electric stove. Chefguy, can a wok work on an electric stove? What do you mean by “flash-frying”?
Rice. What is better: just getting a kilo bag of whatever from the store, or buying “Uncle Ben’s Converted”, or what? What’s the proper way to cook it?
This is cool, and now I’m hungry. I’ll post updates on how things go during the week.
Woks work fine on an electric stove; you just need to practice with it. ‘Flash frying’ just means heating the oil as Zenster suggests, and frying the meat rapidly at med-high heat.
Oh my god, no Uncle Ben’s or Minute Rice. This is the worst crap on the market. Basmati rice (this is a type, not a brand name) is nice because it is aromatic and is really tough to screw up.
2-3 Cups Basmati Rice, Cooked:
Place 2 cups cold water in a small pot. Rinse one cup of basmati rice under cold water and place in the pot with the water. Add a little butter, if desired. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to low. Allow the rice to cook on low for about 10-12 minutes. Fluff it.
If you can’t find Basmati, any long grain rice will do (such as Calrose). The cooking time may be slightly longer, however.
If you are referring to one of those “cook at your table” type places like Benihana or Kobe Steakhouse chains you have been to a basic class if you visit. Ask a few questions the cook will probably happily answer. Thats how I got good at sushi, read a couple books, tried a few things, hit my favorite sushi bar, asked a few questions, try again, repeat. Eventually you will have all your favorites right at home. I do this all the time with restaraunts, you would be amazed what many of them will volunteer when you ask.
You may also consider grabbing a copy of Chineese Cooking for Dummies Its covers all the basic aspects of chineese cooking quite nicely including recipies for various sauces that may be difficult to find in every corner grocery store.
Once you get a handle on some of the basics, asian markets turn into a whole new culinary playground. Then all you have to do is learn to read chineese so you can make sure that its green curry paste you are buying not wasabi.
[don nomex apron for coming flaming]
With a little practice you can microwave a good basic batch of rice in a covered bowl too.
[/don nomex apron…]
If you get really attached to the cooking form a rice cooker can be had for less than $20 and it makes it damn near impossible to screw up.
One of my favorite stir-fry sauces, great with chicken and veggies over rice:
1 1/3 cups soy sauce
1/3 cup corn syrup
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon (or more if you like it hotter) ground red (cayenne) pepper
That’s really all there is to it. Mix it up, warm it, pour it over your stir-fry, and serve.
Take great care if using sesame oil. It is usually only added as seasoning at the completion of cooking. It is generally unsuited for actual cooking because it heats quickly and burns easily. The flavour is too intense to use more than the smallest amount. It can be mixed judicously with other oils (say peanut) for sauteing things briefly on lower heats, for instance green vegetables which are wilted for only a few seconds.
Chefguy, why is Uncle Ben’s or Minute Rice bad? I’m asking as a clueless newbie here.
drachillix, the places I refer to are are Japanese-style teriyaki places that are commonly found in food courts around the Toronto area. They’ve recently put up a standalone version in a plaza near my work, and it has a larger selection including beef bowls, which the mall ones haven’t. A meal there is around $8, more expensive than the run of food-court meals, but it’s good food.
This is about cooking, so I’ll move this thread to Cafe Society.
bibliophage
moderator GQ
Just to be a hijacking elitist jerk, I’ll point out that you can’t REALLY stir fry even on a conventional gas stove. What most people are suggesting here basically amounts to a suate with Asian vegatables and oils. That’s not a bad thing, and in fact it’s what I do most myself for a nice Chinese cuisine fix.
But a real Chinese stir fry is unquestionably done in a wok (usually steel or iron, without any non-stick) that’s being, and this is the key difference, superheated over what is pretty much a jet engine. It’s a super-hot, super-fast cooking technique that takes some real bravery and skill: it’s not for the beginner, and it produces some very different taste results from your standard Western version of the “stir fry” that you make by stirring around a bunch of veggies in an oily pan. Of course, the difference isn’t quite as pronounced with veggies as it is with something like, say, squid or beef, but it’s definately there.
Why is this a hijack if it’s about stir frying? Because I don’t think Sunspace is after a stir-fry at all. He’s after the thing that Mexican and Japanese cooking have in common: searing the hell out of some nice marinated veggies and meat on a hot, flat surface.
If so, then this is good, because with an electric stove, you are out of luck for duplicating the taste of a chinese resturant stir fry (let alone the sort of cooking you’ll see Iron Chef Chen pull off).
But you are most certainly primed to cook yummy dishes all the same in the style that’s more akin to the Japanese teriyaki you’re looking for. Basically, that method is a searing method, not a stir fry method. You can actually duplicate it best with nice big iron skillet, because even though electric sucks for more complex cooking tasks, iron skillets compensate by basically, after heating them up for a while, basically holding all the even heat you’ll need. You just heat up that skillet (the big, heavy iron kind that you can find at yard sales and that last for like 200 years and you have to lovingly cure and never use soap to clean) for a couple of minutes, wipe on some oil, then drop your marinated/oiled food in, allowing it to sit for a minute or so to generate that nice browning action. Of course, follow a real recipe here: that’s just my description of what you’ll be doing.
Of course, you “clueless bachelor” types always refuse to invest that much time and love into an iron skillet, so there are more reasonable alternatives. Believe it or not, but the George Foreman grills actually work to make some fairly good teriyaki sears. And you can passably sear on something like a griddle as well.
Here’s a recipe that sounds more like what you’re after:
http://www.cakebread.com/recipes/SavBlanc/TeriyakiSalmon.html
I like to use Seasame and Peanut oil when I stir fry. Or, even better, a ‘hot’ oil. It’s pre-mixed with crushed red pepper and stuff (comes in a small jar. But be careful, if you don’t like hot food, fahgedaboutit.
I also love to mix Oriental noodles in with my stir fry after it’s all done. Last night, I mixed the noodles with leftover hot Italian beef samwhich makins. Man oh man, it was great.