Do you stir-fry?
@owlwings (43915)
Cambridge, England
December 20, 2008 12:16pm CST
I know that this is a cooking technique used a lot in the Far East but it is also becoming popular in the West.
It involves more preparation than most Westerners are used to. Everything should be cut small enough to cook in approximately the same time - which is usually no more than five minutes, so, apart from the prep time, the meal is often on the table within 20 minutes (if rice or noodles are used).
The benefits are immense. Food is cooked in the minimum time necessary to make it edible and so you retain more of the nutrients and flavour. It is really quick to serve to a hungry family after a day's work and, if you choose your spices and flavourings correctly, is very appetising.
If you are doing a barbecue/grill a stir fried salad or accompaniment works well with grilled meats.
Do you have any hints, tips or specialities that you can pass on to make everyone's cooking more appetising, more inventive and more healthy?
3 people like this
9 responses
@leenie50 (3992)
• United States
22 Dec 08
Hello owl,
As a matter of fact, I stir fry at least once a week. Stir frying is not only fun but so good. My husband and I have found that stir frying with beef has the best flavor. It's also relatively inexpensive. The only seasonings I use is soy sauce. I usually use rice with itbecause my hubby doesn't care for the noodles much. I love the noodles. Oh well. I'm sure it's not as full of nutrients although I should read closer but, they now have several items already packaged up and ready to throw in the wok. I just add a couple other items that aren't included. That makes for a quicker dinner.
leenie
@derek_a (10874)
•
21 Dec 08
Yes, we certainly stir-fry, but my wife and I are used to preparing meals from scratch as we find that is the healthiest option. When we used to eat ready-meals we weren't very healthy at all, but now I am pleased to say that our health is improving and it's well worth the extra time spent - and food if far more tasty. I also do a lot of juicing where I put put raw vegetables into a juicer sometimes with a little fruit and drink it. All the vitamins and minerals are easily absorbed into the body in that way.. :-) Derek
1 person likes this
@pumpkinjam (8539)
• United Kingdom
24 Dec 08
I have a great tip for you... I buy ready prepared packs of stir fry from Tesco. I bought a big fresh pack (you can get frozen as well) which had mushrooms, noodles and some chinese veg. It was only £1 and made a good meal for one or could have accompanied fish or something for probably 4 people.
You can get a lot of veggies already prepared so that helps a bit.
As for actually cooking tips, I usually add a bit of soy sauce but Worcester sauce is nice as well. That just gives a bit more flavour because stir fries can lack flavour a bit. Also, stir fries go cold quickly so if you want them to stay warm, add a bit of pepper (or something hotter if you like!).
@James72 (26790)
• Australia
30 Dec 08
I love stor frying food and do wish I had a wok at the moment so I could make a habit of cooking this way. It allows you to cook vegetables for example, very quickly and lock in many of the nutrients and colour compared to other methods like frying, boiling or steaming. The only tip I can think of right now is to be sure to use the right type of oil as they all have different flavours and maximum heated temperatures. Go easy on the oil too as a hot wok will allow you to move food around quickly without it sticking and too much oil will ruin the healthy aspect of it all. A few spoons of water can help with the cooking too for vegetables.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
20 Dec 08
I agree with everything that you have stated. I love stir fried food but it is the preparation that takes so much time. If I plan to have it one day, I start the prepping the night before and putting the pieces in seal tight containers. This cuts down on the time. I also used cooked chicken. The sauce that I almost always use is Hosein sauce. It is fantastic. I also like to add tinned water chestnuts at the last minute for a crunchy taste. So good. Blessings
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Dec 08
I actually find that preparation needn't take too long provided one chooses ingredients that are likely to cook in roughly the same time or that actually need very little cooking.
The one big (and healthy) advantage to stir frying is that vegetables are cooked for much less time and in their own juices, so less vitamin C is lost in cooking and more (indeed, all) of the other nutrients are retained.
I have to say that I often cheat a little by buying ready prepped stir fry in a pack and just add the meat and a few mushrooms.
Your mention of water chestnut reminds me that last year in California I discovered jicama (pronounced 'HICKama', in case you don't know it). This root vegetable or tuber is something like very tender radish or turnip in texture and has a very delicate, slightly sweet flavour. Both the texture and flavour make it a very good substitute for water chestnut. It is also excellent grated or diced raw in a salad. I believe that Mexicans serve it as a sweet, though I never tried it that way.
1 person likes this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
22 Dec 08
No, I've never heard of it and doubt that I could get it out here, but thank you for the information. Happy stirring! Blessings
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
20 Dec 08
No real hints Owlwings, I'm more from the Scoop_Dogg school of stir fry. But I can vouch for the taste and no doubt it's a good way to get my five a day down me. I love asian food of all kinds. Give me a chili crab (whole crab cooked smothered in a very hot chili sauce) and I am as happy as Larry - whoever he was.
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
21 Dec 08
I do stir-fry at times, especially when I'm down to a little bit of this and a little bit of that left in the crisper. I rarely try to follow a recipe. I just throw in whatever vegetables I have. The only vegetable that I will NOT use is the tomato. Since it is actually a fruit, I never dreamed that anyone would put them in a stir-fry, but I actually got tomatoes once in a stir-fry at a restaurant. I considered the dish terrible and never ate there again.
