What’s your favorite thing to cook?
Given I’ve been getting heavily into cooking these days it’s tricky picking a favourite, but right now stir fry has to be top of the list. Disclaimer – I just wrote about this in a separate post talking about breakfast stir fry!
I realise that stir fry encompasses a very broad spectrum of recipes but lately I’ve been getting closer to mastering the art of simple veg, egg, noodles/rice and protein. It is deceptively easy, just a few steps done right needed to really nail it.
I spent a lot of my life being scared of the stir fry and I’ve heard or read others giving reasons why they can’t use a wok properly. One excuse is having an electric cooktop and the wok not getting hot enough, but I have electric and have no issues – the secret is to be patient, it might take five minutes or more to heat up properly, and then you are cooking with gas (oops).
I also found some key ingredients and got the confidence to splash a bit of this, dash in a bit of that. Timing what goes in when also helps massively. Thicker stemmed vegies first, leafy greens later, sauces at the end (with sauces like soy, pouring onto the side of the wok rather than into the ingredients), meat and aromatics like garlic and ginger first, but I also like to remove and add the meat back in the end.
I’m ranting now but I used to hate the idea of cooking meat, removing, putting back in later, thinking it would mean losing those nice juices and flavours. I’ve come to my senses and realised you don’t lose the juices (either remove with the meat and pour back in later, or leave in to reduce) and it gives you so much control! This also allows for browning of the meat, which I had a recent revelation about.
Within the space of about two days I saw two presenters do the same thing when browning meat (yes I watch a lot of cooking shows). Instead of chucking the meat in and tossing until it’s a bit brown, you actually leave it to really brown up on one side, then give it a quick stir. This lets it stick to the pan and really brown, and those sticky bits get scraped up during the rest of the cooking process, adding much more flavour. Don’t be afraid to leave it longer than feels natural.
It’s a really great way to cook and also perfect for adding leftovers at the end. Currently my number one go-to dish!
Anyone have any tips on buying a really good wok and ladel?
Leave a Reply