Secrets of a Stir-fry

by Jaden Hair

One of the biggest mistakes people make when cooking a stir-fry is crowding the pan or wok with too many ingredients. When the pan is crowded, no longer do the ingredients fry, but rather they end up steaming because the ingredients release moisture during cooking. Ideally, each ingredient should be able to touch the hot pan and you should have just a little bit of space between each ingredient so that the moisture can escape.

Because a stir-fry happens so quickly, I like to brown my meats and seafood first and remove them from the pan when they've browned properly but are still uncooked in the middle. Then I will cook my vegetables, giving them ample room to properly sauté and brown. When the vegetables are just about perfect, I'll add the sauce and the meat or seafood back into the pan to finish cooking. The result is perfectly cooked shrimp, crisp-crunchy on the outside because of the proper browning.

Just for fun, I'll tell you what will happen if you add the shrimp and the vegetables into the pan at the same time. First off, the shrimp will be overcooked, as the vegetables tend to take a little longer to cook.  Secondly, the ingredients on the bottom touching the pan will begin to cook, and they will start releasing moisture that will travel up. The moisture is steam, and the ingredients on top will begin to steam. But not all of the steam can escape so the moisture drips back down to the bottom of the pan. If you start stirring the ingredients, then the ingredients won't have enough time to brown properly. What you'll end up with is a goopy mess of a stir-fry!

And while we are on the subject of stir-fries, I might as well talk about the wok. You don't need one. Yes, it's nice to have and I use my wok for everything, but if you don't have the money to purchase one nor the space to store one then don't buy one. I like to use a sauté pan in place of a wok. So what's the difference between a sauté pan and a frying pan? A frying pan is very shallow, usually with sides that come up about an inch and a half. A sauté pan has higher sides—generally between 2 to 3 inches. This allows you to stir-fry and toss your ingredients without fear of your ingredients falling out.

Well, I hope that you've learned something about stir-frying and the recipe that I'd like to share with you is one of my favorites, Sweet and Sour Shrimp. With this basic recipe, you can substitute the shrimp for chicken or beef. Just adjust your cooking time at the end to make sure your ingredients are cooked through.

Sweet and Sour Shrimp
Serves 4

1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 large carrot, very thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1/2 onion, sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1. To make the sweet and sour sauce, mix together the orange juice, ketchup, white vinegar and brown sugar in a small bowl. Set aside. Pat the shrimp very dry.

2. Heat a large sauté pan or wok over high heat. When the pan is very hot, pour in the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the shrimp to the hot pan in one single layer. Cook for 1 minute, then flip to cook the other side for 1 minute. The shrimp should be nice and brown on both sides, but still uncooked in the middle. Remove the shrimp from the pan to a plate, keeping as much oil in the pan as possible. (We will be adding them back in into the pan to finish cooking).

3. Return the pan to the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. When the pan is hot, add the carrot, bell pepper, onion and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes until the vegetables are softened. Pour in the sweet and sour sauce. Turn the heat back to high. When the sauce begins to bubble, add the shrimp back into the pan and let cook for 1 minute until the shrimp is cooked through. Serve over cooked rice.

Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer living in Tampa Bay, Florida, who specializes in global flavors. See more of her great recipes at www.steamykitchen.com and in the brand new Steamy Kitchen Cookbook that includes 120 easy Asian recipes and over 200 color photographs.