- Also written
- stir-frying, stir-fried
To stir-fry is to cook small, evenly cut pieces of food quickly in a little oil over high heat, keeping them moving so they colour without stewing.
The method comes from Chinese cooking and is built around the wok, whose curved sides let you push cooked food up and away from the hottest point. A large, heavy frying pan works at home if you cook in smaller batches.
Most of the work happens before the heat goes on. Cut everything to a similar size, mix any sauce in a cup, and line it all up in the order it goes into the pan, because there is no time to chop once you start. Heat the pan until the oil shimmers, then add the food in that order: aromatics such as garlic and ginger briefly, then the things that take longest, then the quick ones. Too much in the pan at once drops the temperature, and the food steams in its own juices instead of searing.
Use an oil that copes with high heat, such as groundnut or rapeseed oil. Rice or noodles usually go in last, with the sauce.
The term is the same in British and American English.
By The Scullery team · Updated
