This article gives a concise yet comprehensive guide to the entire process of how to stir-fry Chinese food.
Be prepared. Stir-frying is usually a very fast process. Preparation is the time-consuming part. Make sure you have all the ingredients you need ahead of time, because you won’t have time to prepare anything during stir-frying. Try to keep a 1:1 ratio between the amount of meat and vegetables you use. Wash the vegetables and let them dry a bit so they’re not too wet when you stir-fry them. Cut all ingredients according to directions. Generally, vegetables and meat should be cut into bite-sized pieces. Garlic and ginger should be minced or cut into smaller pieces than other ingredients. After cutting, meat should be marinated in a combination of Shaoxing wine/rice wine and soy sauce for around 20 minutes. How much soy sauce you use depends on how salty you want your meat to taste.
Turn on the heat to medium-high. Add the oil (how much you use depends on the dish; canola oil carries my personal recommendation for its health benefits) and move the wok around a bit to distribute it evenly across the bottom. When the oil starts to smoke slightly, start cooking. Do not overheat the oil: Eating overcooked oil is unhealthy. This depends on personal taste, but consider adding a few pieces of garlic and/or ginger before adding anything else. If you do this, reduce heat to medium-low and stir-fry until you smell their aroma.
Timing is everything. Ideally you want all ingredients to become fully cooked at the same time without overcooking anything, but this is difficult to accomplish even for experienced chefs. Therefore, it’s usually a good idea to cook things separately if you’re unsure. For recipes involving both meat and vegetables, cook the meat first and then set it aside. Remove the meat from the wok when it changes color (for red meat, when the redness is gone; for white meat, when it turns golden brown). Stir-fry vegetables in order, from hardest (carrots, broccoli, eggplant) to softest (lettuce, mushrooms, tomatoes). If unsure, cook them separately. When almost finished, add any remaining sauces and seasonings, then add everything back into the wok for one final stir. Once done, taste and adjust if necessary, then dish out and serve immediately.
