Boring stir-fry!

storm2811

Whenever i make veggie stir fry it always turns out a bit bland,like it's missing something?i use sweet chilli sauce in it and a little bit of soy sauce..any ideas to change it up a bit?:p

Swampy

Fresh garlic, Ginger, lemongrass?

Chinese rice wine?

How about some crushed peanuts?

Fresh coriander at the end?

Edit; lots of chilli

Some lime juice?

Some crunchy deep fried funky sliced garlic and shalotts tossed on top at the end for crunch?

Can't think of any more at the moment.

Swampy

On my iPhone so can't edit properly, but exchange "funky" for "finely" above.

storm2811

i do use garlic in it but i like the lemongrass idea or the shallots!
thanks:D

Swampy

In that case, peel away the outer core of the lemongrass and finely slice the softer interior core and it's perfectly edible.

Snowie

I useually work my stir frys like this...

Bitter Salty sweet, sour, spicey... and unami

Bitter could be a squesse of lemon or lime juice.

salty well i use a small amount of salt.

sweet genrally I use honey for this,,,

Sour some viniger people say rice viniger but balsamic is fine.

Spicey can be chilli or just nicely ground pepper..Cayanne pepper.
and also a dash of terriaki sauce, and oister sauce. also some hot water and peanut butter..... can work to depends on your taste really.

I useually marinade my chicken /prawns/ beef/ even pork tender loin in this. for about, 1hr to 24 hours...

you can allso add ginger, garlic, lemmon grass and diced chillie at the start... to flavour the oil... maybe pea nut oil

CodeMonkey

Snow-Monkey wrote: »

Bitter could be a squesse of lemon or lime juice.

Lemon and lime juice are sour.

rgiller

Some really good additions which bring out loads of flavour are


Grated ginger - a piece about the size of the top of your thumb

Lime juice - use a whole lime and put this in after a few minutes of cooking without it. Let it reduce a little and seep into the veg

Sesame oil instead of regular cooking oil to cook it in

Chopped chili

Garlic

Salt and pepper


You can use all of these in the same pan and results are very tasty

storm2811

thanks:D ill deffo try some of these next time!

Phenix

i use: +
some thai fish sauce,
grated ginger,
garlic
fresh chilli
lemongrass, i take off the outer layers and cut it into chunks, leave it in while stirfrying then take it out before i eat it (just a preference!! gives the flavour)
or as someone else suggeted, sesame oil. i use vegetable oil to cook the stir fry in and just a drain of sesame at the end as its quite strong.
some fresh basil is also lovely in there.

matrim

+1 for using Seasme oil

Also I know you say veggie stir fry and it isn't veggie but Thai Oyster Sause adds a really nice flavour to a stir fry

tscul32

I use a dash of

soy/sweet soy/chilli soy
oyster
ketchup
orange juice

sometimes add sweet chilli

or just go with sweet soy and chinese 5 spice for a drier dish (or add a splash of oj)

Never have a bland tasting stir fry

kopfan77

a shot of lea and perrins gives a stir fry a nice kick also

aidan24326

Swampy wrote: »

How about some crushed peanuts?

Or better still, cashew nuts. Though they are a bit more expensive.

rgiller wrote: »

Grated ginger - a piece about the size of the top of your thumb

I'd definitely agree with that, a bit of ginger is a great addition to a stirfry. But OP, as rgiller has alluded to here, be very careful with the amount as too much ginger will overpower a dish. You only need a small amount. The suggestions you're getting are good though. Even simple things like garlic and fresh chilli can liven up any stirfry.

PS garlic doesn't have to be fresh, even the minced stuff does the job well, but try to use fresh chill as much as possible. It's a relatively cheap ingredient to buy anyway.

storm2811

aidan24326 wrote: »

Or better still, cashew nuts. Though they are a bit more expensive.




I'd definitely agree with that, a bit of ginger is a great addition to a stirfry. But OP, as rgiller has alluded to here, be very careful with the amount as too much ginger will overpower a dish. You only need a small amount. The suggestions you're getting are good though. Even simple things like garlic and fresh chilli can liven up any stirfry.

PS garlic doesn't have to be fresh, even the minced stuff does the job well, but try to use fresh chill as much as possible. It's a relatively cheap ingredient to buy anyway.

I do put cashew nuts in,i love using cashew nuts!:p
I've tried some of the suggestions and they've turned out really good,thanks all of ye!

yeah was a bit unsure about using ginger because whenever i used it before it all went wrong..:pac:

irish_goat

Grape juice can add a little something to stir fry's I've found. It's not much more expensive than other juice in Lidl and Aldi.

Poppy or sesame seeds aren't bad to add in either.

Fresh herbs too, coriander and basil are good.