For a quick, balanced meal any day of the week, a stir-fried mix of vibrant vegetables and juicy protein can’t be beat. Stir-frying takes small, uniformly sized cuts of proteins and vegetables and quickly cooks them in oil in a wok or wide sauté pan. This Asian-inspired technique creates flavorful, fresh dishes that rival any takeout menu, plus it’s easy, nutritious and customizable to any palate. Once you master the basics of a stir-fry, you can have a colorful dinner on the table in no time.
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Prep Your Ingredients
The best part about a stir-fry is that it cooks quickly. But that also means that all the ingredients need to be prepped before you start. All meats and vegetables must be cut up ahead of time and sauces need to be ready to add once the ingredients are cooked through. Slice veggies like carrots on the bias for maximum surface area and increased caramelization. And take care to keep everything in bite-size pieces since you typically don’t eat stir-fry with a fork and knife. Prepping for the meal also means cooking rice or noodles beforehand, as well as having garnishes ready to go.
Choose Your Pan
The Le Creuset enameled cast iron Wok is the perfect choice for a stir-fry with its curved interior cooking surface for easy tossing, stirring, and searing. The flat base steadies the pan on the stovetop while the cast iron retains heat over the entire surface area of the pan, staying hot as you add ingredients. The colorful Wok also looks great on the table, for a fun serving dish that also keeps the stir-fry warm. While a Wok is the ideal vessel for this technique, you can also prepare a tasty version using any wide pan with sloping sides, such as the Toughened Non-stick Pro Stir-fry Pan or Braiser. No matter which pan you choose, make sure to preheat the pan for a few minutes so that it’s hot and ready for cooking.
Cook Your Stir-fry
With the fast action of a stir-fry, it’s best to add ingredients to the wok in the order of cook time. Start with ingredients that take longer to cook like hearty vegetables or meats, and then move to quicker cooking ingredients at the end, stirring often. Don’t be afraid to remove ingredients as they are cooked through so as not to overcrowd the pan. And a tight-fitting lid comes in handy for steaming thicker veggies like broccoli and bok choy. Once the proteins and vegetables are done cooking, it’s time to add in a sauce to tie it all together. Savory or sweet, the sauce can be as simple as a couple splashes of soy sauce or as nuanced as a bold, homemade teriyaki.
Garnish Before Serving
Customize your stir-fry at the end with a variety of complementary garnishes. This is the perfect time to add any green herbs or crisp scallions that would have wilted in the heat of the wok. Cilantro, Thai basil, green onions, chives and mint are all fresh options. Crunchy toppings are also a welcome addition for added texture and flavor. We love adding toasted nuts, sesame seeds, chili garlic crunch or fried garlic before digging in.
