Stirfrys - help

ektsoc

I want to eat more healthy for the usual reasons but every time I attempt to make a stirfry it is soggy and tasteless. I prefer crispy stirfry's but it seems to be a fine line between crispy and soggy as no matter how careful I am it just comes out soggy. I have added soya sause or sometimes a thai sauce from aldi which is lovely with chicken but it just didn't work out. Has anyone any suggestions as to where I'm going wrong?:(

Ponster

Chop meat and veg into uniform sizes (thin slices for meat)

Heat wok/pan as hot as possible - heat oil in wok/pan

Fry meat for 2-3 mins

Add onions if wanted

Add veg

Lastly add sauce and stir-fry for 2-3 mins. Adding the sauce too early may result in soggy veg.

Having too much water also results in sogginess. Mushrooms are often to blame for this. You just need to cook the veg in the correct order.

WesternNight

Heat is the main thing. The pan needs to be as hot as possible. If it's not hot enough (or if the oil isn't hot enough) it'll cool everything down too much and the water from the food will seep out and turn the whole thing into a stew.

I find peppers and mushrooms notorious for turning things watery. So if I'm adding them I tend to add the peppers at the last minute and only barely heat through. I tend to fry the mushrooms separately until golden brown. They're delicious like that.

CJhaughey

You need serious power in a hob to stirfry, have you ever seen a chinese wok burner in a commercial kitchen? They sound like the space shuttle taking off.
Thats the main reason why domestic stirfrys end up as stirstew, lack of power to drive off the moisture in the food.

Miaireland

Don't overfill the wok. If I am doing a stirfry for a few people I fry all the veg separately and the meat seperately, keep them warm and then combine them all for the last minute.

Ponster

CJhaughey wrote: »

You need serious power in a hob to stirfry, have you ever seen a chinese wok burner in a commercial kitchen? They sound like the space shuttle taking off.

Very true that. Which is why I tell people that they really don't have to have a wok to make a stir-fry unless you have the gas burners to go with it.

ektsoc

What sauce would you recommend or do you just use spices and do you put them in at the end. I don't think I have the hob hot enough so will do that next time.

BaZmO*

I wouldn't worry too much about having a Nasa grade gas burner in your kitchen. The main trick when doing a stirfry at home is to cook the meat first, be it chicken, beef or pork, and then put it aside.

Then you cook your vegetables in a little oil at a high temperature. You need to make sure your vegetables are a uniform size so that they all cook evenly, but use your head by putting the vegetables that take the longest to cook in first.

Resist the temptation to add more oil if the vegetables are taking too long to cook, just add a little water and put a lid on for a minute or too, this will steam the vegetables.

When the vegetables are cooked, add the meat (and juices) back to the pan and add your sauce and heat it through.

If your using fish or prawns you don't need to cook them first as they don't take long to cook. Just put them in at the end when the vegetables are nearly done.

tscul32

I usually just add various combinations of the following to make my sauce
Chinese 5 spice powder
Sweet Soy
Soy
Chilli Soy
Sweet Chilli
Oyster sauce
Fish Sauce
Ketchup
Orange Juice
Water
Honey

Whatever takes my fancy on a given day

rubadub

BaZmO* wrote: »

I wouldn't worry too much about having a Nasa grade gas burner in your kitchen. The main trick when doing a stirfry at home is to cook the meat first, be it chicken, beef or pork, and then put it aside.

Then you cook your vegetables in a little oil at a high temperature.

Yes, my father goes one step further and splits the veg up the same way, frying each ones individually and separating them all out, the more people you are cooking for the more careful you have to be.

I used to cook mince the same way, some shops have mince that is not all squashed and you can separate them by just spinkling them onto the pan and fry it up and you get mini crispy steaks! I would cook a 1/2lb of mince in about 5 goes in a wok, sounds like lots of effort but it is really quick if hot enough.

Ponster

rubadub wrote: »

I used to cook mince the same way, some shops have mince that is not all squashed and you can separate them by just spinkling them onto the pan and fry it up and you get mini crispy steaks! I would cook a 1/2lb of mince in about 5 goes in a wok, sounds like lots of effort but it is really quick if hot enough.

I think you should always cook mince this way (in batches), though normally I'll do it in 2/3 goes. Otherwise you end up stewing the mince in water as opposed to cooking/browning it.

emc2

BaZmO* wrote: »

The main trick when doing a stirfry at home is to cook the meat first, be it chicken, beef or pork, and then put it aside.

Then you cook your vegetables in a little oil at a high temperature. You need to make sure your vegetables are a uniform size so that they all cook evenly, but use your head by putting the vegetables that take the longest to cook in first.

Resist the temptation to add more oil if the vegetables are taking too long to cook, just add a little water and put a lid on for a minute or too, this will steam the vegetables.

When the vegetables are cooked, add the meat (and juices) back to the pan and add your sauce and heat it through.

If your using fish or prawns you don't need to cook them first as they don't take long to cook. Just put them in at the end when the vegetables are nearly done.

this is spot on. Works every time for me.

MarkN

3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablesoons red wine/red wine vinegar
1 tablesoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon flour
2 tablespoons oyster sauce

mix in a bowl... pour over your cooked red meat and veg (fry the meat in some ginger and garlic with sesame stir fry oil).

Lovely!