Stir Frying

From CopperWiki

Stir frying is a traditional Asian, more specifically Chinese, cooking technique. It implies cooking meat and vegetables quickly in a wok over high heat. It is more like a quick sauté followed by a brief steaming with a flavoured sauce. The constant stirring and tossing of the wok is the very the essence of stir frying. Since the food is cooked over high heat, it prevents it from burning and sticking. Just about all food can be stir fried, be it meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, noodles or rice.

[edit] Stir Fry Techniques

In Chinese cuisine, there are two ways to stir fry — the chao and the bao. The chao technique requires a minimum amount of oil, which is added to a pre-heated wok. Just before the oil smokes, fragrant ingredients such as garlic, ginger and scallions are quickly heated. Just when their aromas are released, the main ingredients, be it meat or vegetables, are added. The golden rule is that the ingredients that take longer to cook go in first. Just when the meat changes its colour, sauces and spices are added and the dish is tossed.

If vegetables are to be added to the meat, the Chinese first stir fry the meat, remove it, stir fry the vegetables and then add the meat once again. Finally, the liquid ingredients are thrown in to create a sauce. This is just stirred for a fraction of a second and served right away. The key to good stir fry is to never cook the meat or vegetables completely, because once the liquid is added, the food continues cooking for a minute or more after it is removed from the wok. Sometimes, the food is covered for a couple of minutes to steam it before it is served. [1]

The bao technique is known as flash fry. For this cooking technique, the wok has to be heated till it has a dull red glow, and then the oil, seasoning and meat are all added in quick succession with no pauses. The food is rapidly tossed around as the ingredients are added. The wok is also quickly rinsed with cold water to prevent food residues from charring and sticking to the wok bottom. Usually, food is cut into smaller pieces for faster cooking.

[edit] How Does Stir Frying Work?

As in deep frying, it’s the heat that quickly gives the food a crisp exterior and the steam trapped inside cooks the interior. Stir frying at the right temperature is what makes the food crispy and light.

[edit] Is It Healthy?

When food is stir fried, it is cooked at high heat; this helps it retain most of its freshness, and its vitamin and mineral content. The cooking technique also requires minimal fat and it absorbs little oil. It is particularly popular with the health conscious.

[edit] Is It Energy Efficient?

Stir frying is an energy efficient and healthy option of cooking, primarily because of the speed at which food is cooked. Given below are some tips to make stir fry even more energy efficient:

Put together all the ingredients before you start cooking so that you waste little time and make your stir fry as perfect as possible.

Cut the meat and the vegetables into thin strips or pieces for them to cook super fast; 5cm to 8cm length strips are ideal for stir frying.

Meat can be marinated for about two hours in the fridge to make it tender and flavourful, and to hasten cooking. Slicing meat across the grain of the meat also ensures tenderness.

Use a heavy based wok. Though it will take longer to heat, it will retain heat better, enabling you to cook more efficiently. Though non-stick woks are popular, they aren’t very advisable as Teflon does not react well to high heat. [2]

Cook small batches of say 200gm at a time. This will enable faster cooking without the temperature of the wok dropping and causing the food to stew. The juices must sizzle while stir frying.