Recommended cuts for stir frying
Beef | Lean beef strips prepared from rump, sirloin, rib eye, fillet |
Chicken | Lean chicken strips prepared from breast fillets, tenderloins, thigh fillets |
Lamb | Lean lamb strips prepared from fillet, lamb leg steaks, round or topside |
| mini roasts, eye of loin |
Pork | Lean pork strips prepared from leg, butterfly or medallion steaks or fillet |
Veal | Eye of loin, fillet, round, rump or topside |
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Buy meat strips from your butcher or from your supermaket, or prepare meat strips from recommended cuts listed above by removing any fat and slicing thinly across the grain (across the direction of meat fibres). Slicing across the grain ensures tenderness. Cut into very thin strips, approx 5 – 8 cm in length. Partially freeze meat for approx 30 minutes to make slicing easier.
Stir fry meat strips in small batches (approx 200 – 300g) to stop meat shedding its juice and ‘stewing’, resulting in tougher meat.
When adding meat strips to the frypan, the strips should sizzle.
Stir fry meat strips for 1 – 2 minutes. Any longer will toughen meat.
If cooking large batches, remove each batch when cooked and allow frypan to reheat before stir frying the next batch. By cooking in small batches the heat of the frypan remains constant, ensuring the meat doesn’t stew and toughen.
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 frypan. If necessary cook vegetables in batches as well and reheat at the end of stir frying. If using this method remember to under cook slightly so reheating will not spoil the finished dish.
Serve stir fried foods immediately to retain their crisp texture.
Sauteing
Recommended temperature probe setting 8 – 10
Used for sauteing onions, garlic, spices, curry, pastes, herbs, vegetables, meat and seafood.
Shallow Frying
Recommended temperature probe setting 6 – 8
Used to crispen and cook foods in a small amount of oil.The foods may have already been cooked.
Use approx 1 cup of oil, or sufficient oil so that half the food is immersed.
Preheat the oil before adding food.When using oil never cover with the lid during heating or cooking, as this will cause condensation to drip into the oil and result in bubbling and splattering.
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