# Stir-Fry!



## lmw80 (Apr 20, 2006)

Daniel (fiancee) got me a wok for Chanukah - a really good one! I love making stir-fry, but didn't have the right cookware for it and so it would get really messy, lol.

Anyway, I started this thread not necessarily for recipes, but to see what people like to put in their stir-fry.

I like, broccoli, carrots, baby corn, cauliflower and beef (I am a picky eater which limits it for me, but I do make onions and peppers in a seperate pan for Daniel to add to his)


----------



## Mylegsbig (Apr 20, 2006)

chicken, beef, shrimp, baby corn, broccoli, peppers, onion, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, thai chilies, sriracha sauce, mushrooms, day old white rice, rice noodles, ginger, 

most of the ingredients i interchange when i stir fry


----------



## BreezyCooking (Apr 20, 2006)

I am an Asian stirfry maniac - lol!!  Have lost count of all the Asian cookbooks I have, not to mention all the recipes I've developed through experimentation.  Anyway, even though this isn't the "poultry" forum, this is one of my own favorites:

Chicken Asparagus with Oyster/Black Bean Sauce
2 boneless skinless chicken breast pieces (about a pound or so), sliced & cut into bitesized pieces 
1 bunch fresh asparagus (about a pound or so), tough ends trimmed & cut into 2" pieces 
2 stalks of Bok Choy, ends trimmed, cut into 1" pieces 
2" piece of fresh Ginger, peeled & minced 
3 large or 6 small cloves of garlic, peeled & chopped 
3 tablespoons Chinese salted/preserved/fermented black beans 
2 tablespoons oyster sauce 
3 tablespoons dry sherry 
1 teaspoon oriental chile paste/sauce 
8 fresh shitake mushrooms, stemmed & quartered 
3 tablespoons or so Peanut or vegetable oil for stirfrying 
Cooked Jasmine Rice for serving. 
Soak beans in hot tap water to cover & let sit for 15 minutes. Drain beans, add garlic, & mash together with a fork to make a rough paste. Add sherry, oyster sauce, & chile paste & stir. 
Bring a pot of water large enough to hold asparagus pieces to a boil & add all asparagus pieces except for the tips. Boil for 2 minutes, then add tips & boil for another minute. Drain. 
Make rice according to package directions. 
Heat wok (or large frying/saute pan) until drop of water sizzles. Add oil & swirl. 
Add Bok Choy & ginger & stirfry for 1 minute. Add chicken pieces & continue stirfrying until chicken is just about cooked thru. Add mushrooms & stirfry for another minute. Add blanched asparagus & bean paste mixture & stir for another minute. (If there isn't enough moisture in the pan, you can add a splash or 2 of water or chicken broth.) 
Serve over Jasmine Rice.


----------



## buckytom (Apr 20, 2006)

i like to wok: snow peas, rehydrated shiitakes, cloud ears, oyster mushrooms, bok choy, water chestnuts, scallions, onions, carrots, bell peppers, various hot peppers like jalapeno, cherry, and gochu.
also, broccoli, baby corn, lotus root, celery, cabbage, horseradish, red and icicle radish, spinach, escarole, broccoli rabe, beet and radish greens, peanuts, cashews, walnuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, chicken (breast and thigh meat), beef (in chunks like in steak kew, or thin sliced), pork (chunks or shredded), shrimp, squid, scallops, tilapia, tuna, tofu, noodles (rice and soba), and all usually cooked in peanut oil, sometimes finished with hot or regular sesame oil.


----------



## ronjohn55 (Apr 21, 2006)

buckytom said:
			
		

> i like to wok: snow peas, rehydrated shiitakes, cloud ears, oyster mushrooms, bok choy, water chestnuts, scallions, onions, carrots, bell peppers, various hot peppers like jalapeno, cherry, and gochu.
> also, broccoli, baby corn, lotus root, celery, cabbage, horseradish, red and icicle radish, spinach, escarole, broccoli rabe, beet and radish greens, peanuts, cashews, walnuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, chicken (breast and thigh meat), beef (in chunks like in steak kew, or thin sliced), pork (chunks or shredded), shrimp, squid, scallops, tilapia, tuna, tofu, noodles (rice and soba), and all usually cooked in peanut oil, sometimes finished with hot or regular sesame oil.


 
That must be one heck of a big wok!!!!

John


----------



## lmw80 (Apr 21, 2006)

forgive me, but what are cloud ears?

I didn't mention seasoning with mine...I use soy sauce, ginger, garlic, stir-fry sauce, chili powder and a tad of thai peanut dressing


----------



## Robo410 (Apr 21, 2006)

all those great chinese green leafy vegetables...crisp and nutty without being bitter!  great in a stir fry...broth garlic soy ginger minimal meat chili flakes or sauce green onion...over brown rice WOW


----------



## college_cook (Apr 21, 2006)

I like to keep my stri-fries simple... usually just one or two veggies, a meat, whatever sauce I'm in the mood for, served over lo mein or fried rice.

I love my sauce thick, like chinese-take out sauces usually are, so I always make sure to add a little bit of  water/flour slurry to my wok about a minute before everything is finished cooking.  It gets a nice glaze over everything, and really helps the sauces stick to your meats and veggies.


----------



## BreezyCooking (Apr 21, 2006)

If I need to thicken a stirfry sauce, I always combine a tablespoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon or 2 of water & add that.  You don't have to "cook" it & thus avoid any possible raw flour taste or lumps.


----------



## Quizzie (Apr 21, 2006)

Hey Imw80. How are you? Don't you just love your wok? I have a Cast Iron Wok. It took me awhile to cure it. I have had it for about 5 years now. When my friends come over I have to hide it. It was one of those things, I was at the right [place at the right time}. There was only one. I grabbed it up so fast, I did not care about the price.

I believe if my husband and I were to divorce, it would be in the decree. (sorry Honey the wok is mine) 

Seafood is my favorite mixed with veggies, fresh ginger root, garlic and a little bit soy sauce, cornstarch, and water to thicken.  WHITE RICE PLEASE.


----------



## Diane1415 (Apr 21, 2006)

I prefer peppers onion ginger root som boc choy and I gotta have the Chinese 5 spice powder


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 23, 2006)

I too like my stir-fries simple.  These are the types of veggies I use, but not all of them at the same time:

Snow peas
sweet peas (must be fresh or frozen)
carrot (bias sliced and fresh)
onion
bok choy
celery
baby corn
straw mushrooms (I know, the mushrooms aren't a veggie)
button mushrooms
portabella mushrooms
water chestnuts
spinach
sweet corn kernals
fresh green beans
any colot sweet pepper (prefer red, orange, and yellow bell pepper)
peanuts (actually a legume, like peas and beans, not a true nut)

Grains (pre cooked):
brown rice 
wild rice

Meats:
beef
pork
any kind of poultry
shrimp
scallops
clams
lump crab meat (rare due to price)
lump lobster meat (rare due to price)
fresh tuna
tilapia
pollok

Seasonings:
frehs garlic
onion
ginger
lite soy sauce
oyster sauce
5-spice powder
cayenne pepper
salt
hoison sauce
plumb sauce
sesame oil

Nut-like things:
peanuts
cashews
sesame seeds

Fruits:
madarine orange pieces
pineapple chunks
fresh, pitted cherries
lychee fruit

I mix and match ingredients that compliment each other.  I serve with freshly made noodles that have been splashed with EVOO, or if made with rice, serve as is.  

O have a large flat-bottomed, high-carbon steel wok made by Atlas.  I have been using it for about 15 years now.  It's a wonderful thing.  Like my cast iron, it is seasoned well enough that almost nothing sticks to it.  And it's great for making muhc more than just a stir-fry.  But that's a topic for another forum.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## SierraCook (Apr 23, 2006)

lmw80 said:
			
		

> forgive me, but what are cloud ears?
> 
> I didn't mention seasoning with mine...I use soy sauce, ginger, garlic, stir-fry sauce, chili powder and a tad of thai peanut dressing


 
Cloud ears are a mushroom used in Asian cooking.  For more information on cloud ears check out the website below. 

http://chinesefood.about.com/library/blchineseing3.htm


----------



## fireweaver (Apr 23, 2006)

heck yeah!!  stir-fry is one of my super faves, and tends to be one of those things that just whatever is lying around in the fridge gets to jump in.  2 things i *highly* reccomend:  when heating the oil in your wok, once you've got it coating in a nice thin layer, sprinkle in the sesame seeds.  by the time you've grabbed the meat to toss in, they'll be toasted and then they'll stick to the outside of the meat since it's still raw.  the other thing is if you can find an asian grocery store, they sell beef and pork sliced very thin (imagine strips of bacon 3x as tall as usual, but that length and thickness), and either one of these works beautifully in your stir-fry.


----------



## lmw80 (Apr 23, 2006)

thanks for the link for the cloud ears!

fireweaver - I have asian grocery store here and get my stirfry meat from them....very good stuff!


----------



## Little Miss J (Apr 23, 2006)

I am lazy with stir fries I just have a look and the fridge - chop it all up and throw it together.


----------



## buckytom (Apr 23, 2006)

ronjohn55 said:
			
		

> That must be one heck of a big wok!!!!
> 
> John


 
yes, it is, ya wanna see it?


(lol, gw must have a small wok... )


----------



## ronjohn55 (Apr 24, 2006)

buckytom said:
			
		

> yes, it is, ya wanna see it?
> 
> 
> (lol, gw must have a small wok... )


 
Oh no! I'm not going to start comparing the size of everyone's wok!  
That's probably best left to a discussion board that deals with other subjects. 

I would say more, but I don't want to get brained, or banned, or both! 

John


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 24, 2006)

Bucky;

May your muse gently enter your home with stealth and grace, an whap you on the nape of your hairy neck. 

Methinks you need a woman in your home to quell those boyish urges, and tell you how to be fit for society.   But then again, what hope is there for one who swims the Hudson River, and eats the fish (or whatever else is floating around in there) from the same?  Tell me; do people who swim in the Hudson really glow in the dark?  

Up here in the pristine waters of Lake Superior, we don't glow, but we do take on the most amazing hue of blue after entering that cold water. 

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North.


----------



## buckytom (Apr 25, 2006)

lol gw. my wife has been trying for years.

actually, the hudson is supposedly becoming clean enough to swim in again someday. my elder relatives used to tell me stories of swimming just north of the gw smile: ) bridge.


----------



## ronjohn55 (Apr 25, 2006)

Goodweed of the North said:
			
		

> Up here in the pristine waters of Lake Superior, we don't glow, but we do take on the most amazing hue of blue after entering that cold water.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North.


 
Ah yes, I have experienced that hue of blue on several occasions. That is indeed one COLD lake. 

John


----------



## buckytom (Apr 25, 2006)

oh, ok, now i understand the reason for small woks...


----------



## Ripliancum (Apr 25, 2006)

I like any vegetables, as long as there is some spice. (as in hot pepper type spice)  I also love the Thai peanut sauce, and a bit of teriyaki.


----------



## BreezyCooking (Apr 25, 2006)

LOVE Thai Peanut Sauce!!  Not only does it make a terrific dip for chicken kabobs, but I also toss it with cooked Chinese noodles (or Italian fettucini or linguini), sesame seeds, & diced cucumber to make the "Chinese Sesame Noodles" many Chinese restaurants serve.  What's nice about that dish is that it can be served hot, room temp, or cold & it's equally delicious.


----------

