Cooking techniques
continued
Stir fry tips
• Buy meat strips from your butcher or supermarket,
or prepare meat strips from recommended cuts
listed above by removing any fat and slicing thinly
across the grain (across direction of meat fibers).
Slicing across the grain ensure tenderness. Cut into
very thin strips, approximately 2 - 3 inches in
length. Partially freeze meat (approximately
30 minutes) to make slicing easier.
• Stir fry meat strips in small batches (approx 1⁄2
pound; 225g) to stop meat shedding its juice and
‘stewing’, resulting in tougher meat.
•When adding meat strips to the fry pan, the strips
should sizzle.
•Stir fry meat strips for 1 - 2 minutes.An y longer
will toughen meat.
•Remove each batch when cooked and allow
fry pan to reheat before stir frying the next. By
cooking in small batches the heat of the fry pan
remains constant, ensuring the meat doesn’t
stew and toughen.
•A small amount of oil can be mixed through the
meat strips before adding to the fry pan, along any
other flavoring such as garlic, ginger and chilli.A
little sesame oil can also add flavor.Mixing the
meat with the oil rather than heating it separately
in the fry pan eliminates using too much.
•Drain off thin marinades from meat strips before
stir frying to prevent stewing and splatter.
•Stir fry vegetables after sealing the meat in
a little oil (or sprinkling of water) until vivid
in color for:
3 MINUTES
Onion, quartered
Broccoli, flowerets
Carrots, sliced
Soaked Chinese dried Mushrooms
2 MINUTES
Snow peas
Capsicum, sliced
Zucchinis, sliced
Water chestnuts
Bamboo shoots
1 MINUTE
Garlic, minced
Chilli, minced
Ginger,minced
Shallots, chopped
Bean sprouts
This brief cooking time will keep
vegetables crisp.
• Peanut oil is traditionally used for stir fry Asian
style dishes. However other oils such as vegetable,
canola and light olive may be used.
• Do not overfill the wok. If necessary cook in
batches and reheat at the end of stir frying. If using
this method remember to under cook slightly to not
overcook the end result.
• Serve stir fried foods immediately to retain their
crisp texture.
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