All foods give off some steam when cooking, so it's important to leave the lid off the pan during frying so the steam evaporates rather than collecting on the lid and dripping back into the hot oil.
Yes, I recommend you start stir frying in the deepest frying pan you have before buying to a wok. If you are worried about the oil splattering out of the frying pan, you can use a lid to shield yourself. But don't completely cover the frying pan with the lid because you want the steam to escape.
Sauce is essential to a good stir-fry because it adds sweet, tangy and salty flavors to the dish. You can use a store-bought sauce or make your own from oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch and broth. Aim for about 2 to 3 tablespoons per person. (Start with these Asian sauces you need to know.)
General Rules of Frying
1 Never heat the oil above 205°C (400°F) or it will spoil more rapidly. Use a thermostat or thermometer and regularly check them for accuracy, regulate the temperature of the oil as carefully as possible, avoiding hot spots and high flames.
DO hold your stirrer just like a pencil. This is the most comfortable and natural way to stir. For stirring stiffer ingredients, hold stirrer in a less comfortable grip and stir more vigorously. DO shake your ingredients in a frying pan after stirring with a spatula or spoon.
If you add too many ingredients at once, they will overlap and steam, rather than sauté, making them rubbery or soggy. "Cook each ingredient separately," advises Martinez. Not only does this ensure that you won't pile too much in the pan at once, but it will also account for different cooking times.
The key to making a really good stir-fry is using a very high cooking temperature so the food will cook quickly. Since stir-frying involves high heat, it's important to choose an oil that has a high smoke point. If you don't, the oil will burn and the whole dish will be ruined.
Cut Thin Slices
The thinner the beef, the more tender it will taste and the less chewy it will be. Thicker strips require longer cooking times, which usually means the outside is overcooked by the time the inside is cooked.
All foods give off some steam when cooking, so it's important to leave the lid off the pan during frying so the steam evaporates rather than collecting on the lid and dripping back into the hot oil.
Place over medium heat, cover tightly with a lid, and steam until the vegetables are bright in color and just starting to soften, about 4 minutes. Remove the lid, raise the heat to medium-high, and allow any remaining water to evaporate.
You'll end up with a mixture of food where some is overcooked and either burnt or soggy, and some that's undercooked, or even raw. You also risk overcrowding the wok when you add everything at once.
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.
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.
Fried and sautéed foods are often coated to enhance their texture, taste, and appearance. Coating foods helps retain moisture while preventing foods from sticking to the pan. Dredging is a simple process of coating a product with flour.
The best oils for stir frys are the oils with the higher smoke points. These tend to be the “thinner” oils such as peanut, grapeseed or canola.
Water, stock, coconut milk, soy or fish sauce can help stop ingredients sticking but use towards the end of cooking, once the ingredients have cooked through. Liquid will coat and glaze ingredients so the end result isn't dry.