THE EVERYTHING® STIR-FRY COOKBOOK

by Rhonda Lauret Parkinson

  How to Season and Clean a Wok

  A carbon steel wok must be seasoned in order to perform properly. Seasoning a wok replaces the sticky protective coating put on by the manufacturer with an oil coating that protects the surface, and it also helps keep food from sticking to the pan. Over time, the wok will develop its own nonstick coating and will require less oil for stir-frying.

  The first step in seasoning a wok is to wash it in hot water and scrub it with a scouring pad to remove the manufacturer's coating. (Unless you need to reseason it at some point, this is the only time you should use a harsh cleanser on the wok.) Rinse the cleaned wok and dry it on a stovetop element over high heat. Once the wok is dry, remove it from the element, and use a paper towel to rub a small amount of oil around the inside. Heat the wok over medium-low heat for ten minutes, and use a clean paper towel to wipe off the oil. You will probably find black residue on the paper towel. Keep repeating the process — rubbing oil over the wok, heating, and wiping — until the paper towel contains no black residue.

  When cleaning a wok, the two most important things to remember are to avoid using a scouring pad or abrasive cleanser and to dry the wok thoroughly. Scouring pads and harsh cleansers can remove the protective coating, and wet woks can rust.

  Cooking Utensils

  You're probably already familiar with many of the cooking utensils used in stir-frying: a sharp knife for cutting meat, measuring cups and spoons for measuring out ingredients, bowls for mixing everything together. You'll be putting all of these to use when preparing stir-fry recipes. However, you may also want to consider stocking up on a few less-common items, some of which are specifically designed for stir-frying.

  • Wok spatula. A wok spatula has a wider base than a regular spatula, making it easier to lift and stir food during stir-frying.

  • Wok lid. In addition to covering the food during simmering or steaming, the interior of the wok lid comes in handy for transferring food from the preparation area to the wok.

  • Mandoline. A mandoline is a cutting tool that is handy for cutting vegetables into thin matchsticks (also called cutting the vegetables “julienne style”).

  • Colander. Investing in a good colander will keep you from going through an endless supply of paper towels to drain meat after stir-frying.

  • Cooking chopsticks. Longer than regular chopsticks, cooking chopsticks are used for everything from stirring food and lightly beating eggs to separating long noodles in a pot of boiling water.

  •Slotted spoon. Even stir-fries sometimes call for the meat to be immersed and cooked in hot oil, or for vegetables to be blanched before combining them with the other ingredients in the stir-fry. A slotted spoon makes it easier to remove the food from the hot oil or boiling water.

  Don't worry if you can't find stir-fry utensils in a kitchenware store and a trip to an Asian marketplace isn't practical. Many Chinese cooking utensils are available on the Internet (see Appendix B, “Online Shopping Resources”).

  Essential Ingredients for Stir-Frying

  There are a few basic ingredients that you'll want to keep on hand so that you can whip up a stir-fry on short notice. While some of these, such as rice vinegar or hoisin sauce, may be new to you, most are readily available in the ethnic or international section of local supermarkets.

  Sauces and Seasonings

  There are a number of sauces and seasonings that lend flavor to stir-fry dishes. Soy sauce is an indispensable ingredient in Asian cuisine, from Japanese shoyu to Indonesian kecap manis, which is a thick version of soy sauce sweetened with palm sugar. Since stir-frying is most closely associated with Chinese cuisine (and to a lesser extent, Thai cuisine), most of the recipes in this book are made with Chinese soy sauce. The two main types of soy sauce used in Chinese cooking are light and dark soy sauce. Both are made from fermented soy beans. However, while light soy sauce (usually referred to in recipes simply as “soy sauce”) is quite salty, the addition of molasses gives dark soy sauce a darker color and a richer texture and flavor.

  If you can't find Chinese light soy sauce in the supermarket, Kikkoman soy sauce can be used as a substitute. Persons on a low-sodium diet may prefer to use Kikkoman, because Chinese light soy sauce brands are typically quite high in sodium. If you're not watching your sodium intake, be prepared to add a bit of salt (or a seasoning substitute) when using Kikkoman instead of Chinese light soy sauce in recipes.

  Every meat marinade needs an acidic liquid to help tenderize the meat, and rice wine plays that role in Chinese stir-fry cooking. It is also splashed on meat during stir-frying, and it is sometimes added to sauces. Rice wine can be difficult to find without making a trip to an Asian grocery store. Fortunately, dry sherry makes an acceptable substitute.

  Like rice wine, rice vinegar is made with fermented glutinous rice, but it goes through a more extensive fermentation process. Rice vinegar is frequently used in sauces, particularly in sweet-and-sour dishes.

  Rice vinegar can often be found in the international or ethnic section of local supermarkets. If it is unavailable, try substituting a mellow flavored vinegar such as cider vinegar instead of regular white vinegar. With the exception of sweet-and-sour sauce, the sharply acidic taste of regular white vinegar is too harsh for most stir-fry recipes.

  Chile paste is a spicy condiment made with chilies, vinegar, and other seasonings. If you're not a fan of handling hot chili peppers, chile paste makes a convenient substitute.

  Made from toasted sesame seeds, Asian sesame oil has a wonderful nutty flavor. You'll recognize Asian sesame oil by its rich dark color — Kadoya sesame oil from Japan is a good brand. Sesame oil is used in marinades and added to stir-fries at the end of cooking for extra flavor. A little goes a long way though, so be sure to use it sparingly.

  While not a stir-fry staple, another ingredient made from white sesame seeds is sesame paste. Used in Chinese cooking for more than 2,000 years, sesame paste lends a thick texture and nutty flavor to Strange Flavor Chicken Salad (page 42), a popular restaurant dish. Many supermarkets do not carry sesame paste. Smooth peanut butter makes a convenient substitute.

  Made by combining soybean paste with chilies, garlic, and other seasonings, hoisin sauce has a sweet and spicy flavor. In stir-frying, the thick brown paste is frequently added to sauces and sometimes to marinades as well. Hoisin sauce is sometimes called duck sauce because it is spread on the pancakes that are traditionally served with Peking duck.

  While it is the most well known, hoisin sauce is not the only soybean-based sauce used in stir-fries (and Chinese cooking). Black bean sauce is made with soybeans that are fermented with garlic and other seasonings. Several popular stir-fries use black bean sauce or the fermented black beans themselves. Depending on where you live, finding black bean sauce may require a trip to the Asian grocery store or shopping online.

  Essential Fresh Ingredients

  Sometimes called the “holy trinity” of Chinese cuisine, garlic, ginger, and green onion have a particularly important role to play in stir-frying. Both garlic and ginger are added to the heating oil to help prevent an oily flavor from being imparted to the other ingredients. Green onion (also called spring onion) lends a mild onion flavor to stir-fries. It may be added to the oil with the garlic and ginger, stirred in with the other ingredients during stir-frying, or sprinkled on the dish at the end as a garnish. All three are sometimes added to marinades to give meat or seafood extra flavor.

  Unless a recipe specifically calls for powdered ginger, always use fresh ginger in stir-fry dishes. You can peel the ginger or leave the peel on as desired. When using green onion in stir-fries, cut off the ends and cut the green onion on the diagonal into the size called for in the recipe. Normally, all of the green onion is used. However, you can also use only the green or white parts to enhance the appearance of the dish.

  Canned Asian Vegetables

  For many people, their first introduction to Asian vegetables came when they ordered a stir-fry dish made with bamboo shoots
and water chestnuts. The popularity of these two vegetables stems partly from their easy availability — bamboo shoots and water chestnuts (along with baby corn and straw mushrooms) are readily available on local supermarket shelves. Always rinse canned Chinese vegetables after opening or blanch briefly in boiling water to remove any taste from the can. Like all canned vegetables, Chinese vegetables are heated to kill any bacteria before canning, so they need to be stir-fried only long enough to heat them through.

  While canned vegetables are convenient, nothing beats fresh Chinese vegetables for flavor. Fresh water chestnuts have a sweet flavor that canned water chestnuts lack. Both water chestnuts and bamboo shoots are available year-round in the produce section of Asian markets. Feel free to use them in place of canned vegetables in any of the recipes.

  Rice, Noodles, and Cornstarch

  Stir-fries are frequently meant to be accompanied by rice. Rice is a staple grain in southern China, where it is frequently consumed at every meal. While long-grain white rice is the rice of choice throughout much of China, the type of rice you use is really a matter of personal preference. Feel free to use other types of rice, such as medium grain or healthy brown rice.

  The main difference between white and brown rice is the level of processing that takes place. All rice is hulled, but in white rice the brown or reddish layers of bran underneath the hull are removed as well. Besides giving brown rice its darker color, these layers of bran are a rich source of B vitamins, making brown rice more nutritious than white varieties.

  A number of popular stir-fries, including pad Thai, are made with noodles. While Asian noodles may not come in the variety of shapes that characterize Italian pasta, there is more variety in the basic ingredients used to make the noodles. In addition to standard wheat-based flour, Asian noodles are made from rice flour and mung bean starch. The unusual ingredients give these noodles specific properties: both are superabsorbent, soaking up the seasonings and sauce they are cooked with. They also puff up nicely when deep-fried.

  Cornstarch, made from the starchy substance contained inside corn kernels, plays a major role in stir-fry cooking. It is used in marinades to seal in the other ingredients and protect foods from the hot oil, and added to sauces as a thickener.

  While cornstarch is a popular thickener in North America, starches made from tapioca, arrowroot, and even water chestnut are used throughout Asia. When a recipe calls for a cornstarch and water mixture to thicken the sauce, feel free to experiment with replacing the cornstarch with one of these other starches. Just remember that each has slightly different properties: for example, tapioca starch thickens more quickly than cornstarch, and arrowroot starch will actually thin out again if overcooked.

  Dried Ingredients

  While they are more commonly found in long-simmering dishes such as soups and stews, dried ingredients are regularly used in stir-fries. Depending on where you live, it may require a trip to the Asian market or going online and surfing the Web (see Appendix B, “Online Shopping Resources,” page 303) to buy them. But you will find it is well worth the effort to have these items in your culinary repertoire.

  Dried Chinese mushrooms are ubiquitous in Chinese cuisine, lending a rich flavor that fresh mushrooms lack. Like other dried ingredients, dried mushrooms need to be reconstituted through soaking in hot water. The strained soaking liquid from these mushrooms is frequently added to the sauce.

  Dried lily buds are the dried buds of unopened tiger lilies. The dried lily buds lend a yellow color and earthy flavor to soups and stir-fries. Also called golden needles because of their length (about three inches), dried lily buds are found in the popular restaurant dishes mu shu pork (see Restaurant-Style Mu Shu Pork, page 184) and hot-and-sour soup. Like dried mushrooms, the dried lily buds need to be reconstituted in water before using.

  Dried shrimp are tiny shrimp that have been preserved in salty water and dried. The tiny shrimp add a strong salty flavor to dishes such as Shrimp and Spinach Stir-Fry (page 133).

  Putting Together a Stir-Fry from Scratch

  While you'll usually be following a recipe, sometimes it's fun to create your own stir-fry. At other times you'll want to adapt a recipe to use ingredients you already have on hand. When doing so, feel free to look beyond the Asian pantry. After all, Chinese cuisine has a long tradition of borrowing ingredients from other cultures. For example, chili peppers, which help give Szechuan cuisine its spicy flavor, are not native to China. Stir-frying is a great way to take advantage of the fresh fruits and vegetables in season in your area.

  Most important is to choose ingredients that won't melt under high heat or fall apart under the constant stirring and tossing needed for stir-frying. Choose food that is firm and will hold its shape well. Quick-cooking shellfish are a great choice for stir-frying, as are firm-fleshed fish such as whitefish, cod, or salmon. When it comes to tofu, steer clear of silken and soft dessert tofus, and stick to tofus with a firm texture. Pressed tofu, which is regular tofu that has been pressed and drained to give it an even firmer texture, is perfect for stir-frying and saves you the work of draining the tofu. When it comes to meat and poultry, choose cuts that are tender and also quick cooking.

  It's hard to imagine a vegetable that would be unsuitable for a stir-fry dish. Even lettuce, the staple salad ingredient in the West, is stir-fried with seasonings in Asia. Some types of vegetables will require a little extra care. Hardier, thicker vegetables are often blanched prior to stir-frying, and it's important not to overcook delicate vegetables such as mung bean sprouts.

  While the growing popularity of stir-frying is making it easier to find ingredients used in stir-frying, sometimes you will need to make a substitution. Here are some common substitutions for ingredients used in stir-frying:

  • Water chestnuts. While it won't have quite the same flavor, the southern vegetable jicama is similar in texture to fresh water chestnuts.

  • Dried mushrooms. Fresh mushrooms will also give the dish a savory flavor, although the exact taste will vary depending on the type of mushroom.

  • Fish sauce. Although it is made from soybeans instead of fermented fish, the texture and flavor of Chinese light soy sauce is very similar to fish sauce.

  • Oyster sauce. Again, Chinese light soy sauce has a similar taste, although it lacks the depth of flavor and thick texture of oyster sauce.

  • Rice wine. Dry sherry is the best substitute for rice wine in cooking.

  • Chile paste. While it won't have the extra spices and seasonings found in chile paste, red pepper flakes will provide the same level of heat.

  If you want to adapt a recipe that normally uses another cooking technique into a stir-fry, start by taking a careful look at the ingredient list. Will the ingredients hold up while being constantly stirred over high heat? Often, it takes only a few simple adjustments to transform a longer-cooking dish into a good candidate for stir-frying: using the right cut of meat, marinating the meat to tenderize it and add extra flavor to the dish, replacing dried herbs with fresh herbs that impart their flavor more quickly where possible, and reducing the total amount of liquid.

  Common Cooking Problems

  No cooking technique is completely foolproof. Here are solutions to the most common problems that can arise during stir-frying.

  Food Sticking to the Wok

  This is one of the most common problems in stir-frying. The usual culprit is a wok that hasn't been preheated. Never add hot oil to a cold wok — always heat the wok for at least thirty seconds before adding the oil. The wok should be nearly smoking, and you should be able to feel the heat when you place your hand two to three inches above the wok's bottom.

  Burning the Aromatics

  Flavoring oil with aromatics (such as garlic and ginger) is a well-known cooking technique, designed to prevent an oily flavor from being imparted to the food. When you're stir-frying, however, there is a danger that the garlic will burn, adding a bitter flavor to the dish. Following the basic steps for stir-frying and stir-fryi
ng quickly will take care of much of the problem. If you're still having difficulties, instead of stir-frying the garlic and ginger for ten seconds, try pressing down on the garlic and ginger with a spatula, forcing them to quickly release their flavor into the hot oil.

  A Lumpy Cornstarch Mixture

  Thickening a sauce with cornstarch is one of those techniques that seems like it should be simple but can go wrong very quickly if you don't follow the correct steps. Never add the cornstarch directly to a sauce heating in the wok or skillet. The cornstarch will not combine properly with the hot liquid, and the sauce will be lumpy. Instead, prepare a cornstarch slurry by dissolving the cornstarch in a small amount of cold water. Pour the slurry into the heated sauce and stir until the sauce thickens. You can also add the cornstarch to the sauce before it is heated, whisking in the cornstarch to combine it with the other ingredients.

  Keep in mind that no matter how thoroughly you stirred it, it takes only a few minutes for grains of cornstarch to separate out of the slurry and settle on the bottom of the bowl. Always remember to stir the cornstarch and water mixture before adding it to the sauce.

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  Marinades and Sauces

  Easy Chicken Marinade

  Simple Stir-Fry Sauce

  Easy Oyster-Flavored Marinade for Beef

  Orange Sauce

  Korean-Inspired Marinade

  Sesame Sauce

  Curry Sauce

  Basic Brown Sauce

  Orange Marinade

  Oyster-Flavored Brown Sauce

  Peking Sauce

  Italian Pesto Sauce