Fav Stir-Fry Ingredient Combos

Cafe Society
1

Can y’all suggest some 4-6 ingredient stir-fry combos? I’m thinking quick, easy lunch or dinner? (Include your technique/method, too, please.)

2

Well, “quick”, “easy” and “4-6 ingredients” don’t really go together. In general, I never think of stir-fries as quick things; just cutting up all the veggies and meat takes a while.

That said, here’s what I typically do:

  • pick a protein. Most of the time for me that means chicken, pork, or tofu. Use between 3/4-1 pound. Cut it into bit-sized pieces. Throw it in a bowl and sprinkle a little soy sauce on top. Optional: garlic/fish sauce/white wine.

  • pick a few veggies. My top choices: bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, pea pods. Chop 'em up into bite-sized pieces.

  • Chop up an onion or scallions

  • 1-2 cloves of garlic. Ginger if I have it. Chop it up.

Make a sauce. I grab a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup, and put about 1/2 cup of a base - stock or white wine, typically. Then add a couple tablespoons of soy sauce, then optionally a few of these: fish sauce, dry sherry, wine or stock (whatever one I didn’t use as a base), orange/lime/lemon juice, five-spice powder, ginger, curry powder, sesame oil, sriracha, chile paste, hoisin sauce, honey. Probably a few I’ve left out. I don’t use ALL of these, I just use a couple that I feel like having that night. Mix it all together, you’re looking for between 1 and 1.5 cups of liquid altogether. When it tastes the way you like, whisk in 1.5 t. of corn starch per cup.

In a big frying pan (NOT nonstick), fry up the meat in a little oil. When it’s done, remove it from the pan. Add the onions and the slowest-cooking veggies and saute until half done. Start adding the rest of the veggies, going by how long each takes to cook. This isn’t as hard as it sounds, everything goes pretty fast. Just think “hard vegetables first” - onions, bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, in that order. Don’t put bean sprouts or pea pods in until the very end.

When veggies are done, throw in the garlic, scallions (if using), ginger (if using). Give it all one big final stir, then throw in the meat. Put the sauce over everything, cook for a couple minutes until everything’s hot. Serve over rice.

There you have it. Not easy or quick, but good!

Edit: this is for 2 people with enough leftovers for a lunch the next day.

3

Fast and easy – saute mushrooms first, then add tomatoes and finally bok choy. Flavor with garlic and soy sauce and serve over rice. The bok choy is the key – doesn’t seem like it would be good but it really is.

4

I like chicken or shrimp with carrots, onions, and broccoli.

5

I sear stew meat in the wok with a bit of olive oil. When it smells right, I dump in the sauce (usually curry powder, sweet and sour sauce, garlic, soy sauce and water with a touch of hot oil), When that starts to boil, I add shaved carrots, bok choy, broccoli florets, water chestnuts, and a couple of tablespoons of sauerkraut (the ingredient that everybody remarks on but can’t figure out what it is). Then stir fry the heck out of it and you’re done.

6

Quick and easy - for vegetables, you can buy Bird’s Eye frozen stir-fry vegetables in a bag. Defrost in microwave and drain before throwing them in the wok/frying pan.

For the sauce, I usually just do soy sauce, sesame oil, and fish sauce. Then sriracha after it’s plated.

7

I stir fry with little dabs of Sesame Oil.

Straight stir fry…

Meat ingredients get a swath in corn starch, fry alone to color then set aside. Chicken and Pork a little longer than say Beef or Seafood.

Veggies: Any or all combinations of…
Onion, Green Pepper, Corn, Snow Peas, Water Chestnut, Bamboo Shoot, Bean Spouts, ect…

Fry together till onions are translucent then add the Meat to finish…

Season with 5 Spice, Teryaki, Soysauce, or just Salt n Pepper as you cook. A little goes a long way.

I like a meat to veggie ratio 1:1 then pour over rice.

(If you want a gravy, add corn starch/arrow root to a cup of hot water then stir in while almost done cooking.)

I do fried rice also.

This vid does it pretty well, a few pointers would be :
Use day old rice, Meat dipped in corn starch ( cook set aside) cook eggs first then add the other stuff…don’t forget the Bean Spouts and Onions.
Use high heat and little oil and little Soy Sauce or rice will be soggy. Add more Soy sauce AFTER its served on the plate.

That’s about as far as I go. :wink:

8

Ignorant would-be cook here, but I usually put mushrooms in last, as they tend to overcook and shrivel up if you do them too soon. Am I missing something?

9

Protein + fish sauce and/or oyster sauce + chile peppers + basil + shallots/onions/garlic (or any combo.)

Technique? Brown and cook protein almost all the way through. Set aside. Add shallots/onions/garlic with chili peppers to oil and fry. Reintroduce meat, add fish/oyster sauce, add basil (fresh, and A LOT OF IT, like at least half cup of packed basil for a pound of meat), cook until basil wilts. Serve (with optional fried egg on top.) If I want a veggie in there, I throw in some zucchini or green beans. You could also use a little sugar in the sauce, but if you’re using oyster sauce, a lot of brands (if not most) have sugar already in there. Also, a grating of white pepper can be used, too.