Have you ever had a stir-fry disaster? Do you wonder why your stir-fry doesn’t look or taste like it does in restaurants? A good stir-fry can be a home cook’s best friend- it’s a crowd-pleaser and is ideal for busy weeknights when you want to put a nutritious meal on the table fast. But sometimes stir-fry can end up less than perfect with limp, soggy vegetables or dry, tough meat. And how do you prevent the ingredients from sticking to the pan? Here are some simple tips on this versatile ancient Chinese cooking technique to guarantee that your next stir-fry attempt will be a success.
5 Tips for Stir-Fry Success:
1. Hot, hot, hot!
Getting your wok or pan really hot before you start to cook is key to ensuring stir fry success. When your pan is hot, your meat will get seared which will give it a nice golden crust, leaving it juicy in the middle. Veggies will stay crisp with a firm bite. If you’re a beginner, start with your temperature on medium high and adjust from there.
2. Use oil with a high smoke point and neutral flavor
This is not the time to use your extra virgin olive oil! You want to use oil that can heat up to very high temperatures without burning and is also neutral in flavor to let the ingredients shine. Try peanut, canola, corn, soybean or grapeseed oil for best results. Dark sesame oil is used for seasoning- add it at the end of cooking to add delicious flavor.
3. Mise en Place
This classic French technique of prepping all of your ingredients ahead of time is how professional kitchens are able to push so many dishes out of the kitchen quickly every night. When making stir-fry, the cooking process is really quick so it’s key to have all of your ingredients prepped and chopped when you’re ready to start cooking.
4. Don’t overcrowd the pan
Although you may be tempted to throw all of your ingredients into the pan at once, this will just steam your ingredients rather than sautéing them, leading to tough meat and mushy veggies. When cooking meat, make sure each piece comes into contact with the surface of the pan- you may need to cook it in batches to ensure this. Don’t stir the pieces around too much- let them develop a golden color on the outside.
5. Cook in steps
The different components of stir-fry are usually cooked in stages- sear the meat first then remove from the pan. Veggies go in next- things that take a longer time to cook like broccoli or eggplant go in first followed by veggies that cook quickly such as snow peas or spinach. Then the meat is added back and the sauce is added to finish the dish. This ensures that nothing gets overcooked and that each component is cooked to perfection.
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| Mise en Place |
My yummy Hoisin Shrimp and Edamame Stir-Fry is a great way to incorporate healthy seafood into your diet and shrimp only takes a few minutes to cook. Red bell peppers and vibrant green edamame add bright pops of color to this dish and they’re packed with nutrition. Bell peppers are an excellent source of Vitamin C and also contain high levels of Vitamins A, E, K and B-complex vitamins as well as the antioxidant lycopene. Edamame, which can be found in the frozen foods aisle of the grocery store, are green soybeans. They’re high in protein, fiber and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. They’re also rich in several antioxidants, vitamins and minerals including Vitamin K, Folate and Manganese. They are commonly served boiled or steamed in the pod with a light sprinkling of sea salt. Shelled edamame are usually precooked and make a great addition to stir fry dishes, soups and stews.
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| Soba Noodles |
Instead of rice, I serve my stir-fry with soba noodles. Soba noodles are thin Japanese noodles made mainly from buckwheat flour. They have a mild nutty flavor and are commonly used in soups and cold salads. They are a nice change from rice and I like to toss them directly into the stir-fry to get them evenly coated with the sauce.
Hoisin Shrimp and Edamame Stir-Fry with Soba Noodles
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons hoisin sauce*
- 3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha or other hot sauce (optional)
- 6 ounces soba noodles
- 4 teaspoons neutral-flavored oil like grapeseed or safflower, divided use
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb. medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
- 4 scallions, sliced
- 1 ½ cups frozen shelled edamame, defrosted
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Mix the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, and Sriracha together in a bowl.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the soba noodles and cook until tender, 4-5 minutes. Drain the noodles and rinse them with cold water.
- Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring often, until they just turn opaque, 2-3 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a plate.
- Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the wok. Add the bell pepper, scallions (reserve some for garnish), and edamame. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables are crisp tender. Add the shrimp back to the wok along with the sauce. Cook until the sauce is heated through, about 1 minute, and then add the sesame oil and noodles. Toss to mix all of the ingredients together. Garnish with reserved scallions before serving.
Notes
* A sauce used in Chinese cooking that can be found in the Asian food aisle of most grocery stores
Nutrition
Calories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 48.8g | Protein: 27.9g | Fat: 5.5g | Saturated Fat: 0.8g | Fiber: 3.7g
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Thank you so much for the tips! I can't even begin to tell you how many times we were disappointed in our homemade stir-fry. This dish looks and sounds amazing!
Thanks so much! The recipe is very flexible- you can put in whatever meat and/or veggies you have in the fridge.
I love all of these ingredients. Super recipe!
Thanks, Lynda!
Looks really good! Great presentation!
Thanks! Yes, I was happy with the natural colors in the dish- I didn't have to do too much!
I shared this recipe on http://www.ameessavorydish.com. Check out Amee's wonderful site for more healthy, delicious recipes!
You make it sound so simple and end up with a super looking dish. I now realize why my stir fry vegetables get soggy. I do all of them together!
Tahnks for the tips.
Thanks, ur- once you get the method down, it is easy!
Such a beautiful and healthy stir fry dish! Thanks for sharing and thanks for the great tips!!! Lovely post!
Thanks for stopping by Amee!
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This looks delicious and very easy to make — going to try it this weekend!
Thanks Melissa- let me know how it goes!
You were right, this dish was a crowd pleaser. The only change that I did was to use the regular Chinese rice noodles BUT the vegetables remained crunchy and fresh looking.
Thanks for the tips on cooking temperature and differences in the use of oils for stir fries.
So glad it was a hit! Thanks!
This stir fry looks delicious and the tips are so helpful! Stir frys RARELY turn out for me so I'll have to try your tips 🙂
Thanks Elizabeth! Definitely focus on the tips and it should turn out great 🙂
I was just saying how I'm craving soba noodles. Looks like this will be in the dinner rotation very soon 🙂 Stir fry can seem intimidating, but you just have to be prepped and ready to go! Thanks for sharing!
Aren't soba noodles the best? Thanks so much Alanna!
Not overcrowding the pan is SO important!
Definitely!!
OH yes, I know all too well how disastrous stir-fries can turn out ;). All your tips are so so important to follow! I'm very guilty of overcrowding my pan as I have the tendency to want to add as much vegetables as I possibly can ;). And soba noodles..man..love that stuff!
Bad stir-fry can be really BAD! Thanks Min, and I couldn't agree more, soba noodles are so good!
I'm somewhat of a failure to my own culture and haven't ever made a legitimate stir-fry, haha. I knew about the super hot wok and the step-by-step part, but thank you for the rest of the tips! <3 This looks delicious! 😀
Haha, don't beat yourself up too much 😉 Thanks Farrah!
Oh geebuz. I still remember the time my mum leant me her wok and I wrecked it by burning the oil in the centre.
This looks delicious and I love a good stir fry- It's the best excuse to chuck well..anything in there! Shrimp is ALWAYS a winner! Also- hopefully it's just me but you're posts weren't showing up in bloglovin for some reason!
Haha, "Oh geebuz" is a new one to me! Thanks Arman, you really can't beat a good stir-fry.
As for bloglovin, thanks for letting me know. For a while now, I've been having a problem when I leave a comment with commentluv, it keeps linking to my peach fro yo. Now I know there's a bigger problem with my feed not updating, but I don't know how to fix it! Arrgh!!!
No worries at all- I had a similar issue- You need to shoot them an email and they 'reset' your blog- It has something to do with a connection with the RSS feed 🙂