Whatever goes stir-fry

For one or many — recipe provided for 4

Wok and pot

Stir-fry

Basic stir-fry ingredients

  • Oil suitable for high temperature e.g. rice bran oil, peanut oil, coconut oil
  • Olive oil (for omelette)
  • Rice or noodles
  • Soy sauce

Optional stir-fry ingredients

  • Leek or onion (1–2)
  • Ginger (1 dessert spoon freshly grated)
  • Garlic (1 clove crushed)
  • Chilli (as per your taste preference)

Choice of vegetables

  • Asian greens such as bok choy
  • Broccoli
  • Brussel sprouts
  • Cabbage
  • Carrot
  • Cauliflower
  • Eggplant
  • Green beans
  • Herbs — basil, coriander
  • Kale
  • Rocket
  • Snow peas
  • Spinach
  • Squash
  • Zucchini

Choice of protein for your stir-fry

  • Beef
  • Chicken
  • Egg
  • Lamb
  • Pork
  • Prawns
  • Tempe
  • Tofu

Method — stir-fry recipe for 4

  1. Chop one onion or leek
  2. Rinse and clean your vegetables. Prepare the equivalent of four to five cups of chopped vegetables. Ideally prepare the vegetables so they cook at the same time, so carrot and cauliflower would be smaller in size than zucchini for example. I usually put aside the leafy vegetables and fresh herbs, as these need less cooking time. These can be added about 5 minutes prior to the end of cooking.
  3. Prepare fresh spices — crush one clove of garlic, finely chop one chilli (you can remove the seeds and white flesh it you prefer less spice), grate 1 heaped dessertspoon of ginger.
  4. Slice chicken or meats into thin strips. Prawns are ideal for a stir-fry, but need to be peeled and cleaned well. Allow for 60–80g of meat, chicken or seafood for each person. Tofu and tempe can also be sliced into thin strips so it will heat quickly. Allow for 150–200g of tofu/ tempe per person. If you are having egg as your protein source, prepare a six egg omelette mix (eggs plus 2 tablespoons of milk). Once your protein ingredient has been prepared place it back into the refrigerator.
  5. Pre-heat cooking oil on low heat in your wok (or deep sided fry pan) and add onion or leek. Heat and stir onion/ leek until it is soft. Add fresh spices and stir through for 1–2 minutes.
  6. For chicken, meat or seafood — remove the onion/ leek and spices from the wok and place in a dish. Add sufficient oil (about 2–4 teaspoons) to cook the meat. Stir the meat until it is almost cooked and remove from the wok. Cover the meat and set aside until step 8. Add the onion/ leek and spices back into the wok.
  7. Add chopped vegetables and stir well. Add 1 teaspoon of salt reduced soy sauce. If you find that you ingredients are becoming dry and are sticking to the wok, add some water. Stir through.
  8. When the vegetables are partially cooked, but still firm, add your cooked meat, prawns, poultry, tempe or tofu and stir through the vegetables. Or see step 9 for omelette.
  9. Egg omelette — The omelette will take 6–8 minutes to cook on low to medium heat. You will require a medium size fry pan to cook the omelette. Preheat the pan with 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil. Add your omelette mix and leave to cook until the base of the omelette is firm. Turn the omelette over to finish cooking. The omelette can be cut into quarters to aid the turning. When cooked, remove the omelette from the pan and cut into strips. Return to the pan and cover whilst you plate the vegetables. Add the omelette to the top of the vegetables.
  10. Five minutes prior to end of cooking add herbs to your stir-fry

Serve your stir-fry with rice or noodles. I usually start cooking my rice or noodles after I have chopped the vegetables.

Simple goodness of stir-fry meals

A stir-fry meal ticks all the boxes for simplicity, flavour, nutritional benefit and environmental soundness — it is based on vegetables and your leftover ingredients, which reduces food wastage.

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