Stir fry

Almost always something from the onion family - garlic, green onions, leeks, shallots, walla walla, whatever.  Cabbage of some sort, carrots, sometimes celery.  Cashews or peanuts - tried almonds once, wasn't that thrilled.  Some sort of chile, from bell pepper to habs or bird chiles, depending on my mood and whether or not my wife and her timid palate are involved.  Sometimes diced tomato tossed in at the last moment.  Lettuce or cucumber could be interesting, never tried them, but summer squash like zucchini, yes.  Mushrooms of various types are always good.  Fresh ginger root.

One of my favorites is strips of pork marinated in soy sauce and rice vinegar for a bit, cooked with green onions and peanuts.  Simple and tasty.

mjb.

You can stir fry most anything, its a matter of preference and taste. I do suggest buying a Wok to do it correctly and a very Hi Heat. Serve right away so colors stay vibrant and texture is crunchy.

Mushrooms is a must.  I also like bell peppers and red onion.  Broccoli and cauliflower but I throw them in raw, I've blanched them before and they turn out too mushy for me.  Zucchini if I've got it.  Crispy strips of tofu (for my husband, not for me yuck).  I always throw in a handful of frozen peas.  The key to stir fry is frying each ingredient by itself one at a time and then combining at the end.

Don't agree 100%with this . In commercial settings veges are blanched prior for speed at service  and  can then  be stir fried all at once. For a home  you may be right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chefedb 

Don't agree 100%with this . In commercial settings veges are blanched prior for speed at service  and  can then  be stir fried all at once. For a home  you may be right.

Are you talking to me?  I learned this technique here at cheftalk.  Thank goodness because before I was throwing everything together in the wok and it became like soupy vegetable braise rather than a crisp stir fry.  My home is not a commercial setting so I wouldn't know how to do it otherwise.

When there is meat involved I usually cook it first until not quite done, then remove from the wok, add back in when the veggies are all in.  Then veggies, maybe alone, maybe together, depending on what they are.  Snow peas take a lot less time than carrots, peanuts can cook forever without losing texture, green onion tops I toss in after the wok is off the heat.

Did a shrimp fried rice tonight with some store bought pot stickers.  The dumplings were a disaster, they stuck really badly and fell apart, mostly due to me not paying attention.  My wife *loved* the fried rice.

I've got a sudden urge to dig up the Iron Chef episode "Battle Prawns" one of my favorite episodes.

mjb.

Try blanching and shocking veges. It makes it a lot easier later

Pork belly. It's made for stir frying. Simple, hearty and delicious. Short braise when it is crisp. Chairman Mao's red braised pork comes to mind.