Put a small amount of oil (1-2 tablespoons) in your wok. You won't typically need much oil - you're stir frying, not deep frying. At this point, you'll also want to add any seasoning and/or spices you're using in your dish.
In addition to being quick and easy, stir-frying is also healthy. It results in tender-crisp vegetables that retain more nutrients than if they were boiled. And since stir-frying requires only a small amount of oil, the fat content is low.
For most recipes, you'll want to cover at least 3 inches of your Wok, which can range from 4 to 6 cups of oil. Turn your stovetop on to medium-high and heat your Wok and oil.
Heat frypan. Measure 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and pour it into frypan. Tilt the frypan to evenly coat the base with oil. Drop cut vegetables into hot frypan.
Therefore, if you're cooking in a skillet, you need to use just enough oil to fully coat the entire bottom (unless you're pan frying). That's typically 1 to 2 tablespoons, depending on the size of your skillet. When you're roasting, use enough to just fully coat the food you're making.
The amount of oil you need each day is different for everyone. The average adult needs about 2,000 calories per day. In a 2,000 calorie diet, women can have 5 to 6 teaspoons of oil a day. Men can have 6 to 7 teaspoons.
Chinese cooks normally use soybean oil, vegetable oil, or peanut oil, all of which have a high smoke point. Peanut oil usually has a pleasant nutty flavor and is suitable not only for stir-frying but also for deep-frying. Canola oil, which has a high smoke point but a neutral flavor, is also a good choice.
Add a small amount of oil to a large pan or wok.
For about 4 cups of vegetables, I would start with 1 tablespoon of oil. I like using olive oil for stir-frying, and reserve more flavorful oils, like sesame oil, for lightly drizzling the final dish.
Aromatic ingredients like garlic, ginger, green onions, chilies and spices. These ingredients are typically added to the oil first to infuse it with flavor. You won't need much; a few teaspoons to a tablespoon of total aromatic ingredients per person adds a serious amount of flavor.
Pre-heat the wok before doing anything.
Even before you add oil to the wok, it should be preheated until it begins to smoke. A well-seasoned and properly cleaned wok will always have micro pores in the metal that hold some oil/food particulate—that's a good thing.
Sautéing and stir-frying—The most common question I get on this topic is how to sauté or stir-fry without butter or oil. The trick is to use small amounts of water or broth, adding just a small amount (1 to 2 tablespoons) at a time. Do this as often as needed to cook and brown the food, without steaming it.
For a basic stir fry, you'll want about 3 tablespoons of sauce. Most of the liquid will cook off, leaving you with just the flavors. If you'll be serving the stir fry over rice or other grains, you'll want about 1/3 cup of sauce and may want to thicken it up with a bit of cornstarch or flour.
Why is my stir-fry so watery? Damp vegetables drop the temperature of your wok or skillet and can turn your stir-fry into a soupy braise. Pat vegetables dry or run leafy greens through a salad spinner until dry to the touch. Otherwise, they will steam and braise in the pan and lose their crispness.
Use olive oil to stir-fry or sear a steak.
Though it's nice to have two oils (one for cooking, such as canola oil, and one for finishing, such as extra-virgin olive oil), here's a secret: We use extra-virgin olive oil for high-heat applications, too. And it's completely fine.
Stir-frying: Butter has a lower smoke point than our favorite oils for stir frying. Use ghee or clarified butter here for best results. Pan-frying: Yes, you can use butter for simple pan-fried recipes! Like sautéing, you'll want to slowly melt the butter and let the moisture cook off before adding your food.
Oil: Although you can use almost any kind of cooking oil while you master how to make stir-fry, peanut oil is ideal. It can reach a higher temperature than other oils before it starts smoking. (If you have a nut allergy, other high smoke-point oils such as canola or avocado oil are great alternatives.)
Stir-fry onions first, then add hard vegetables such as carrot and broccoli. Quick-cooking vegetables, such as snow peas, leafy greens and bean sprouts, should be added towards the end of cooking. If using vegies that have a combination of both textures, such as gai laan, add the stems first and the leaves later.
If the meat isn't tender, the pieces will become tough and chewy from being cooked too fast. Maintaining a tender and juicy dish is a key component of stir-frying. If you have difficulty cooking meats like chicken that are prone to drying out, you can soak them in a marinating liquid for a few minutes.
As a general rule of thumb, between one and two tablespoons a day is a good amount of olive oil to consume. This goes for both olive oil that you drink for health benefits and also olive oil that you consume with food as part of your regular cooking process.
Most engines require between 5 and 8 quarts of motor oil regardless of the season. But that's just an estimate! For your particular vehicle's oil capacity, refer to your vehicle owner's manual.
It adds depth to dishes and enhances the taste of food. Not only does it add flavor, but it also provides numerous health benefits that make it an ideal choice for cooking.