I only realised recently that people have a bloody tough time of making a stir fry and often make a total mess of it altogether. For some reason, I was #blessed with being the best stir fryer I know and while I don’t think I’ll ever make one as good as my local Thai restaurant, I do a pretty bitchin’ job for someone who has literally no culinary training whatsoever.
Are you constantly effing up your stir fry? It has been a bit of trial and error but here some of my hella easy tips you can try at home to wow your friends. Let’s be real though, it’s mainly impress yourself because the most important tastebuds around here are yours.
#1 The Right Pan
First off you’ve gotta make sure you’ve got the right sized pan for the amount you’re cookin’ up; the bigger the better. Don’t chuck a stir fry for four in a tiny pan or wok, you’re going to end up with the worst stir fry of all time. OF ALL TIME. Also make sure it’s the right type of pan than can handle the heat required to make a good stir fry. This doesn’t have to be a fancy wok but you can pick up super tradish ones like the one above for pretty cheap. If you don’t have a wok that’s cool, I often use the little frypan we have lying around because it’s the perfect size when cooking for one. Avoid those weird nature pans at all costs, while they seem like a good idea at the time they’re bloody expensive and never heat pans to the temperature you’ll need. Many of my deepest disappointments in life have been caused by those bloody pans.
#2 Size Matters
If you want your vegetables to cook evenly there are two things you need to do with them and the first one is make sure they’re cut evenly in size. I like to cut my veg in little sticks rather than rounds because I think it looks better and it’s easier to eat but I don’t give AF what shape you’re using as long as the size is uniform, ya hear me?!
#3 Timing is Everything
Some stuff takes a while to cook, right? So why would you throw them in at the same time as something that takes a minute to go soggy? You don’t have to answer me because I can’t actually hear you but take a minute to think about the serious mistakes you’ve been making here. I forgive you, we all do. After heating my oil I add the garlic and onion at the same time and cook for a little minute before adding my protein (tofu, tempeh, mock meat etc). Once the protein is looking nice and cooked, I throw in the hardest vegetables (carrots and baby corn, I’m lookin’ at you!) and toss them around for a few minutes before throwing in the softer veg (capsicum, zucchini and mushrooms, you’re up). Finally, throw in the stuff that you really only need to heat for a minute or so like bok choy and other Asian greens.
#4 Be A Tosser
You don’t want the ingredients of your stir fry to sit for too long, so it’s important to keep things moving with your mixing utensils. Also give your wok a good shake to loosen things up and make sure the vegetables are getting an even amount of heat, you don’t want to play favourites (haven’t you heard that plants have feelings too? *Eye roll*)
#5 Don’t Get Too Saucy
This rule only applies to cooking stir fry, not your general approach to life (stay saucy, legends). You want to add the sauce at the very end so you have just enough time to heat it. You want to make sure you’re adding enough to cover the contents of the pan but you don’t want so much that your veggies start to go for a soggy swim.
#6 Get It While It’s Hot
I feel like this one is self explanatory but maybe it’s not so I’ll tell you anyway. Serve your stir fry as soon as it’s ready to avoid it having too much time to cook further in the sauce and go limp. Also eat it ASAP because you’re stir fry is gonna be so lit that every mofo is gonna want a pieeeeece!
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