How do you make it?
Published on February 1, 2006 By Ziggystyles In Life Journals
My mom used to make stir fry a lot more when I was younger, but then as I got older...I think the wok reusted beyond hope. I liked it and she made a mean stir fry. Ive been trying to get back into making more of it and just recently for Christmas, I got a Wok from my Dad and some asian cook books from my brother. I've used it about twice a week since I got it...mainly making lunch for work at school or dinner at Wal Mart.

Its a regular steel wok...not a teflon coated one, so it has to be cleaned the right way and oiled or else it will start to rust. I think we accidentally left it sitting in some water and it gained a fair amount of rust on there, so I took and SOS pad and scrubbed the heck out of it and re seasoned it.....brand new.

My mom wrote down (somewhere around here i have her notes), how she made her stir fry, using chicken and veggies and corn starch. Im not that creative yet.

Ive just been going the cheap route for the moment, buying a bag of oriental (sometimes stir fry blend) of frozen veggies. I buy some thin strips of pork and then cut them into thin 1 inch strips...then I toss in the veggies and let them cook. Towards the end, I toss in some House of Tsang stir fry sauce and add a dash of garlic and it turns out pretty well.

Im trying to get Marcie into some Asian food...but she hasnt asked yet to try it and I don't think she would like it as Asian food tends to be veggie based....and she isn't a fan of most of the veggies used. My self...I don't think I liked it when I was younger for the same reasons, but when spices and sauces were added, I started to love it. I personally stay away from dishes that contain seafood as Im not a seafood lover (not a fan of fish or shrip...etc)....so I tend to only eat chicken, pork....or a beef dish, but for some odd reason, asian food and beef don't go together that well....at least from what I have seenn.

How do you make stir fry? Im hoping to crack out those cook books my brother gave me, but I just have no time, so I have to go the cheapy quick route for the time being.

Comments
on Feb 01, 2006

How do you make stir fry? I'm hoping to crack out those cook books my brother gave me, but I just have no time, so I have to go the cheapy quick route for the time being.


I have quite a few recipes zig, but none are of the cheap, quicky variety. I can eat a lot of oriental food as long as it's not "big" on veggies. The biggest offender that they use is "broccoli" (UGH!). Can't stand the stuff. Or water chestnuts either. Snow peas, bean sprouts, cabbage and even bok choy are fine with me. I guess what I'm asking is what kind of recipe your looking for?
on Feb 01, 2006
I guess what I'm asking is what kind of recipe your looking for?


Good question. I guess other than seafood stuff, Im not that picky. Crap....its been a year or so since Ive last been to a Asian style restaurant, I can't remember the names of their dishes.

I know at one place they had something called War Wonton soup. I think it was chicken broth based, but had bok choy, bamboo shoots, slices of seasoned pork...etc. Very tasty...always got it when I had a cold. I also like Egg drop soup. chow mein...

Basically anything that is good. I dont mind dishes with rice or mushrooms or whatever. Lol....crap...I need to do some research here. If I have time in the next day or so, Ill try to find some asian restaurant menus online and give some more helpful answers.
on Feb 01, 2006
I know at one place they had something called War Wonton soup. I think it was chicken broth based, but had bok choy, bamboo shoots, slices of seasoned pork...etc. Very tasty...always got it when I had a cold. I also like Egg drop soup. chow mein...


Never heard of this one.

Egg drop soup is very easy and fast to fix. Here's a recipe for that. Let me know on the rest.



1 quart chicken broth
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg
2 teaspoons cold water

Bring broth to a boil. Dissolve cornstarch in water and add to broth, Bring to a boil again and remove from heat. Slowly pour in the beaten egg, stirring slowly and constantly in one direction only.



I add crushed, peeled fresh ginger and some onion to mine. I put both in a piece of cheese cloth and remove before I do the egg. Garnish with some chopped green onion.
on Feb 01, 2006

don't think she would like it as Asian food tends to be veggie based....and she isn't a fan of most of the veggies used.

The beauty of stir fry is that you can use the veggies that you want to make it.

I don't eat meat, but use tofu in my stir fry, so I can't help with meat.

However, I have a wonderful sweet and sour recipe, but it takes a bit of work. This would work well with Chicken, and would be a healthy dinner served over brown rice:

2 bell peppers (you can use red, yellow, orange or green) -chop into chunks
2 carrots - slice into think strips about an inch long
2 stalks of celery - chopped
1/2 Sweet onion - sliced into strips
1 can pineapple (in syrup, keep syrup)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 TBS cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
1 pound of protein of choice
Oilve oil for wok

Heat oil in Wok and add protein.  Cook protein, remove. Put pineapple juice, brown sugar, and vinegar in sauce pan and heat to boiling.  While sauce is heating, add veggies (not pineapple) to wok and cook.  When sauce is boiling, add cornstarch mixture to thicken (you will need to boil it a few minutes- it will darken and get glossy when it is finished).  Add pineapple to sauce and turn off.  Once veggies are cooked, add protein back in and heat, then adds sauce and mix.  Serve over brown rice.

You can also add mushrooms or other veggies to this recipe.

on Feb 01, 2006
Hey zig here's another for you:



Yaki Soba


1 package yakisoba noodle or pancit noodle
1-1.5 lb meat or seafood; VERY thinly sliced
1 cup napa cabbage; sliced thin
2 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup mushrooms of your choice; sliced thin
1/4 cup celery; sliced thin
1/4 cup onion; sliced thin
1 tbsp olive oil
yakisoba sauce

1. Heat a wok or large frying pan, then add the oil, fry meat, seafood, or other ingredients stirring occasionally. 2. Add chopped cabbage and other veggies and fry, until cabbage is cooked. 3. Add cooked yakisoba noodle and fry, stirring occasionally. When noodles are hot, add yakisoba sauce and mix, and heat thoroughly.

Yaki Soba sauce


3 cups water
1/4 cup sweet sake (mirin)
1/2 cup dark soy sauce (shoyu)
1/2 tsp fish flakes (hondashi)
1/4 tsp wasabi; optional
green onion and seaweed

Combine water, Mirin, shoyu, and fish flakes in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer a few minutes. To serve: Place a small amount (¼-½ tsp) wasabi in a small bowl. Add about a half cup of the sauce and whisk to dissolve the wasabi. (This is basically done to taste.....you add a bit of wasabi to some of the sauce and adjust to taste.)