There’s more than one way to cook a stir-fry, says Ching-He Huang, who shows us five great recipes in the February issue of delicious. magazine, each using a different technique. Try making them for Chinese New Year on 14 February. Here are a couple of Ching's recipes to get you started.
Types of stir-fry
Dry stir-fry: This is the classic method, where you heat oil and add aromatics such as ginger and garlic, followed by the meat, vegetables and seasonings. You can then add noodles, if you like.
Exploding stir-fry or Bao: This is another technique in the wok that means to ‘explode’ the ingredients by adding them to an extremely hot wok with some oil, creating an explosion of flavours. This is usually done by adding dried spices to the hot oil, then any wet ingredients.
Vegetable stir-fry: This is when you add a splash of water to a dry stir-fry to create steam to help cook your vegetables.
Saucy stir-fry: At the end of a dry stir-fry, you add stock, or another liquid, and cornflour paste, to create a thick, luscious sauce.
Perfectionist stir-fry: Cook the meat in the wok first, then set aside while you cook the vegetables. You then add the meat back into the wok and add the seasonings.