Sunday, May 11, 2008

An All-Purpose Stir Fry

All Purpose Stir FryThis is a basic, tried-and-true stir fry sauce that works for any and all of your stir fry needs.

My family's not thrilled about broccoli and other vegetables that you typically get in stir fry but the curry version of this sauce soaks in and coats those vitamins so well that even the kids really like this recipe.

I'm only posting the recipe for the sauce because you can pick your own meat and vegetables to go with this, there really are no rules about the stuff you can throw in here--perfect for those "What am I going to fix?" nights. Try it with either curry or ginger, both are tasty.

3 tablespoon soy sauce
1/3 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons chicken broth
2 teaspoons curry OR 3 tablespoons minced ginger root
2 sliced green onions

Mix up the sauce and set aside. Chop your chosen ingredients into small pieces--smaller is better because they will cook quicker and maintain that crispy-tender texture that is important with stir fries. Marinade the pieces of meat in a bit of soy sauce while you're waiting to add them to the pot.

Heat up your wok with a couple of tablespoons of canola oil then keep that wok HOT. You should only be able to keep your hand one-two inches away from the bottom of the pan for a couple seconds it's so hot. Heat the wok back up in between frying the batches.

Add a tablespoon of minced garlic to the oil then start frying up the veggies in batches from the ones that take the longest to cook to the ones that take the shortest time. For example . . .

First batch:
carrots
broccoli

Second batch:
red or green peppers
onions

Third batch:
green onions
sesame seeds

After each batch cooks for a minute in the wok, push it up on the sides then heat up the wok again before adding the next batch to the center along with any oil you might need to keep things from sticking. Keep doing this until all the veggies then the meat are fried up then add the sauce, stirring and heating to coat well.

Serve with a side of sticky rice. It's that easy.

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20 comments:

Kristen M. said...

Looks simple. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

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I will check in from time to time.

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MommyTime said...

Looking forward to trying the sauce recipe! Thanks.

For your readers who've never done stir-fry before: it's important to cook the meat thoroughly in a separate batch all by itself to avoid getting raw meat on veggies. I usually cook the meat first, then remove it to a plate, then do all the veggies as you say, returning meat to the wok when veggies are cooked and ready to add sauce.

Unknown said...

Happy Mother's Day.

Anonymous said...

Its good to read your blog.Really nice blog thanks

Damselfly said...

Mmn, my husband loves a good stir-fry.

Happy Mother's Day!

luckyzmom said...

I was going to say what mommytime said.

I parboil the longer cooking vegies first and toss them in with the cooked meat when I add the sauce. I also stir in well about a teaspoon of corn starch to the sauce for thickening.

Stir frys are definetely healthy, quick, easy and tasty. Also, kids would be thrilled with a sprinkling of crunchy Chinese noodles for on top.

Daisy said...

Yum. Which reminds me -- I was going to back cookies (premade dough) before Husband gets in the kitchen to make supper. Gotta run!

Daisy said...

Bake! I meant Bake!

Anonymous said...

Stir-fry is one of our family favorites! Thanks for sharing your simple recipe!

Two Mittens said...

Hey, FYI...you're on Bloggers 'Blogs of Note'...
thought you might like to know!

Mary@notbefore7 said...

YUM! I love stir-fry. Thanks for the tips.

Now, what "broth" do you use? (yep, clueless in the kitchen) Is that beef broth?

Flea said...

Thank you! My stir fry never tastes good unless I use a mix. Looking forward to trying this one out on the family!

Anonymous said...

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Kathy in WA said...

Michelle - this looks delicious! Thanks for sharing. I needed an inspiring (but simple) stir-fry recipe.

P.S. The family ADORED the chocolate sprinkles recipe. Dh wants me to try rolling them in granulated sugar next time (like his mother always did, sigh). Thanks for the recipe.

Duckabush Blog

Killlashandra said...

You're right about this recipe. I make a super similar version myself about once a week. :)

Anonymous said...

I was wondering what I was going to fix tonight.... Now I know! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I was wondering what I was going to fix tonight.... Now I know! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I was wondering what I was going to fix tonight.... Now I know! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Sounds yummy, will have to try the stir fry