How to Stir-Fry Anything

Stir-frying is another way of using what you have on hand or what is available. You can try different food combinations for a thousand-and-one different meals, or settle on a favorite or two.

When I stir-fry my combinations I like to serve it over rice. It makes the food go from a side dish to a full meal. Any old skillet will work, but a nonstick pan with sloping sides is the best if you plan to stir-fry a lot.

Prepare everything before you start. Have ready your chopped, diced, or sliced meat and vegetables. Everything should be about the same size, so they cook evenly.

First, put a little oil (and meat, if preferred) in the skillet. Any meat that fits your taste and budget will do: bite-sized seafood, inexpensive cuts of beef or pork, or chicken. After cooked, put in another dish and set aside.

Stir-fry vegetables. “Hard” vegetables (carrots, cabbage or coleslaw mix) should go in first. Then add whatever you want: sliced onions, green beans, peas, mushrooms, zucchini, red and green peppers, pineapple chunks, corn, eggplant, whatever. Stir and fry until tender, but still chewy. Add the cooked meat. Stir until everything is hot.

Add a sauce. Here is a simple one:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons water or broth
• A few dashes of a hot sauce
• Stir in 1 tablespoon corn starch as a thickener
• Or use catsup, hot sauce, anything the family won’t throw in your face

Stir and fry until everything is hot and serve with rice.

Now You Know

The term “stir-fry” was introduced by Buwei Yang Chao in his 1945 book, How to Cook and Eat in Chinese. Stir-fry is an easy way to define the Chinese original: “big-fire-shallow-fat-continual-stirring-quick- frying of cut-up material with wet seasoning.” Inscrutable.