What makes a good stir-fry?
Sometimes all I want for dinner is a big bowl of steaming rice (or noodles) topped with stir-fried veggies, tofu, perhaps a little meat, and, maybe (always) a fried egg. And so, my friends, I ask you, what makes a good stir-fry?
Is it the farmers’ market veggies?
Is it the wok?
Is it the non-farmers’ market add-ins?
Is it how the veggies are chopped?
Is it the sauce?
Stir-Fry Sauce
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Total
Adapted from this 1995 Bon Appetite recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup Sherry
- 1 T. honey
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp. orange zest
Instructions
- Whisk ingredients. Set aside until ready to cook.
Notes
I often add some finely minced ginger as well. It adds a wonderful flavor.
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Is it the rice?
(This is brown basmati, but I would love to get my hands on some of that short-grained brown rice served at Chinese restaurants.)
Is it the Sriracha?
Dousing the bowl with Sriracha is a must.
Simple Stir-Fry
Prep
Cook
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I wish I could give more detailed instructions/measurements, but this truly is a no-measure recipe.
Instructions
- Cook rice — whatever you like. Set aside. Prepare sauce (recipe above). Set aside.
- Chop all of your ingredients. The stir-fry takes five minutes of cooking once all the veggies are prepared, so it’s best to have everything chopped ahead of time. This is what I used: onion, cabbage, baby bok choy, rapini, cilantro, snow peas, zucchini, scallions, tofu and peanuts. Be sure to wash the bok choy.
- Heat wok with about one tablespoon of canola oil until smoking hot. (Alternatively, heat wok without oil, then add oil once hot — I’m not really sure what the difference is, but I think it depends on your pan.) Add tofu cubes and let brown until nice and crispy on one side, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove tofu from wok and set aside.
- Add onions and zucchini to wok. Let cook until onions are slightly browned. Refrain from stirring — just let the vegetables brown. Add the cabbage, rapini, and bok choy and cook for another two minutes. Stir briefly. Add, the snow peas, scallions, cilantro and peanuts. Add about a ¼ cup (or less) of the sauce and let cook for about a minute. Add the tofu. Turn off the heat. Top rice with veggies and douse with Sriracha.
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eke says
This was a great inspiration! I made it last night for James and me and it was very successful. I added cut-up scrambled egg to the mix and used noodles instead of rice. yum!