Stir Fry Hacks That'll Make Your Food Taste Even Nicer #cookathome #stirfry #kitchenhacks

Asian food is a snap to make at home! Stir frying fresh vegetables and protein in a wok is an excellent way to quickly cook them and lock in freshness. That makes stir fry an ideal healthy, quick weeknight meal option. To do stir fry right, you need to know a few basics. Today, The Weekend Gourmet correspondent is sharing some great tips that will help you make stir fry dishes that rival takeout. This article may contain affiliate links.

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A stir fry is one of the quickest and easiest meals to make at home for the whole family. All you have to do is throw a load of ingredients into a pan, then quickly stir them as they cook over high heat! If you want to make your stir fry taste even better, here are some tips to keep in mind: 

Use a Wok...and Make It Nice and Hot

One of the fundamentals of cooking at home is having the right cookware for the right job. For stir fries, you need a wok. This is a large frying pan with high rounded sides. It’s used all the time in Asian cooking, because it distributes heat more evenly than a normal frying pan. Plus -- and this is important for a stir fry -- the high sides keep ingredients from flying out of the pan while you stir! You’ll find plenty of tips for using woks -- however, one key is to get the wok nice and hot before you start cooking. Stir fry is always cooked over very high heat. Preheating the wok allows for ingredients to almost get a slight char to them -- and it helps them cook very quickly. If your wok is too cold, you'll lose the effect...along with a lot of flavor. 

Don’t Stop Stirring

If you leave your stir fry for even a few seconds, it will start to stick to the bottom of the pan. This isn’t good, because you'll end up with burnt crispy bits. A slight bit of sticking is okay, but you need to constantly stir your ingredients at all times. This ensures all ingredients are distributed around the wok and cook evenly. Additionally, be sure you scrape as you stir. Again, this stops ingredients from getting stuck to the wok, where they'll burn. It also makes clean-up a lot easier, because you don’t have to spend ages scraping things from the bottom of the pan!

Don't Forget the Seasoning
Proper seasoning is key to delicious stir fry! Maybe you've been seasoning other meals, but have simply forgot about seasoning your stir fry recipes for some reason. There are lots of ways you can add seasoning to your stir fry. The first is to use powdered spices. A bit of salt and pepper goes a long way, as does some Chinese five-spice. Ground ginger is another Asian spice that works well in stir fry dishes. The second is to add liquid seasoning in the form of Asian sauces. The sauce soaks into the food as it cooks, adding a lot of flavor. You can make your own sauce -- or buy pre-made stir fry sauce from your local Asian market. 

Just like that, you’ve created a stir fry like no other! It’s all about having the right tools, learning the right cooking technique, and adding plenty of seasoning. Stir fry is a versatile dish you can whip up for the whole family in about 10 minutes. Get creative and have fun...adding veggies, noodles, rice, meat, or even tofu. The combination options are endless!