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Learn the secret techniques for perfect Chinese stir-frying, from selecting the right tools and utensils to ingredients prepping, stir-fry sauce and so much more!
Table of Contents
Stir-frying is one of the fundamental techniques of successful Chinese cooking, one that you ought to master if you wish to make Chinese recipes at home. Here are my quick techniques and tips for perfect everyday stir-frying.
1. The wok or skillet must be fully heated before stir-frying. You’ll know if the wok or skillet has reached the optimum heat when a swirl of white smoke starts appearing on its surface.
2. Add the oil after the wok or skillet is fully heated. Make sure that the oil completely coats the bottom surface of the wok or skillet.
3. Cut the ingredients, such as chicken, beef, pork, or seafood, into uniform pieces. Also, it’s very important to have all the ingredients prepared, measured, and placed close to the wok or skillet. Once in the wok or skillet, spread the ingredients in one layer to ensure even cooking.
4. Stir-fries are generally prepared with a light sauce. Mix the sauce in advance in a small bowl by combining all the ingredients in the sauce. If cornstarch is used, make sure that it’s completely dissolved. Before adding the sauce into the stir-fry, quickly stir the sauce one last time to ensure that nothing settled at the bottom of the bowl. An authentic Chinese stir-fry dishes shouldn’t be doused in too much sauce; the sauce should barely cling to the ingredients.
5. The spatula should play an active role in stir-frying. Use it to continuously stir and toss the ingredients in a back and forth, circular, turning, and/or flipping motions
Classic Stir-Frying Recipes
Perfect Stir-Frying Techniques
Equipment
- Wok
- Spatula
Ingredients
- Veggies
- Protein
- Sauce
Instructions
- The wok or skillet must be fully heated before stir-frying. You’ll know it has reached optimal heat when a swirl of white smoke begins to appear on its surface.
- Add the oil once the wok or skillet is fully heated. Make sure the oil completely coats the bottom surface.
- Cut the ingredients, such as chicken, beef, pork, or seafood, into uniform pieces. It’s also important to have all the ingredients prepared, measured, and placed close to the wok or skillet. Once added, spread the ingredients in a single layer to ensure even cooking.
- Stir-fries are generally prepared with a light sauce. Mix the sauce in advance in a small bowl by combining all the ingredients. If using cornstarch, ensure it is completely dissolved. Before adding the sauce to the stir-fry, give it a quick stir to make sure nothing has settled at the bottom of the bowl. Authentic Chinese stir-fry dishes shouldn’t be doused in too much sauce; the sauce should barely cling to the ingredients.
- The spatula should play an active role in stir-frying. Use it to continuously stir and toss the ingredients in a back and forth, circular, turning, and/or flipping motions.
Many thanks Bee! Your insightful details helped me in my daily cooking. My son loves the home made crispy chicken nuggets recipe yesterday and it was my 1st attempt ? Have a beautiful day. Cheers.
Hi Jane, thanks for your support.
I need new pans. This one would be perfect.
:)
Thanks for the pointers! I know I’ve been doing a thing or two wrong! I will have to go try again with my new knowledge.
Practice makes perfect.
What are the ingredients that make up the sauce? The sauce I make at home Tate’s nothing like the one the Chinese food restaurants use. What am I doing wrong? There must be some secret ingredient we can’t buy in the supermarket.
Rick, every recipe has a different stir-fry sauce. Please check the stir-fry recipes featured in this post. The sauce is basically soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, water/chicken stock, corn starch, sesame oil and ground white pepper.
Is there an appropriate wok for use on a glass-top surface stove?
You can try this: https://rasamalaysia.com/kuhn-rikon-5-qt-wok-skillet-with-lid-and-wok-spatula-giveaway/
Thank you for your wonderful tips. They were insightful and helpful. I love your recipes in can’t wait to cook your Mongolian beef.
Awesome, thanks for reading!
I just wanted to thank you for these tips. They are both insightful and helpful. And I love your recipes. I can’t wait to cook your Mongolian beef.
Thanks Marie!!
What type of wok do you recommend? Stainless? Non stick? My stir fries are always a bit too saucy and overcooked. Thanks for the tip on not overdoing the sauce. Love your stuff.
I use a non-stick stir-fry pan for most of my cooking, but I also use a Chinese carbon-steel wok. It depends on the dish though. Thanks for your kind support! :)
Yes, a part 2 is needed on this subject given the questions posed by the first comment. However so far so good, I found part 1 informative.
Thanks Tom.
Thank you for the stir-fry primer ! Can you please pick up where you left off, and give us a few follow-on tips? What is proper wok temperature, should wok temp vary w/ kind of food, how do you best use the ‘VERY hot’ middle & the ‘less hot’ perimeter, how to determine the order of cooking the ingredients, do you season the individual ingredients or after assembled, how & when to best apply the cooking oil, what is proper spatula form (I feel like I do it wrong) – are there different ‘stirring’ techniques for different food types? Any tips for applying the sauce? Thanks & sorry for the long list !
Hi Mark, thanks for all the good questions. Perhaps I can write a part two that has more details. :)