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Teaching The Secrets Of Flavorful Stir-Fry

Photo by JADEN HAIR

You want each individual ingredient of a stir-fry to sing on its own.

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By JADEN HAIR

Tribune correspondent

Published: July 29, 2008

Last fall, my parents treated my husband, Scott, and me to a 10-day group tour around China. Our first stop was Beijing, and the first thing I noticed was how clean the city was. I really could eat off the streets, as there was an entire team of sanitation engineers whose sole job was to scrape gum off the streets and sidewalks. I'm so not kidding - they wore white gloves and could scrape even crusty, 2-week-old Bubbalicious in one quick motion.

You could see the entire city was gearing up for its Olympic moment. Sleek buildings, sports stadiums and beautiful parks were being created almost overnight. There was hardly any traffic for a city of more than 17 million, and in addition to the gum scrapers, workers were polishing the guard rails that lined the interstate.

But there was no tricking this smart rat! I knew that our tour's itinerary - including restaurants, shopping, sightseeing and even the driving path - was carefully planned and regulated by the government. I was half afraid to turn my head around and look out the back window of the tour bus for fear that the façade would be replaced by the daily regular.

Well, no matter ... I mean, how can I blame Beijing? For if you come to my house for dinner, you'd find last night's crumbs swept under my rug and mounds of dirty laundry shoved into closets, too!

Next week in a pre-Olympics feature story, I'll share four of my favorite Chinese appetizers so that you're not stuck just ordering takeout from your local Chinese restaurant. But today, I want to teach you the secrets of a light, flavorful stir-fry.

Restaurant kitchens have high-powered stoves, flames that jump so high your eyebrows will singe just standing in the doorway. At home, especially with electric stovetops, we just can't get that kind of heat. To compensate, you've got to take the time to let your wok or pan get super hot, and the best way to judge whether it's hot enough is to hold your hand 6 inches over your wok. The moment you start feeling some serious heat, it's ready. Seriously, though, don't try to be all macho and stuff; if it's hot enough for you to say "HOT!" just pull away.

The second trick is to sear your meat or seafood first, remove from the wok, cook the vegetables, then return the meat or seafood to the wok toward the end of the stir-fry. If you don't, you'll end up steaming your meat in the vegetable juices instead of frying it. You want each individual ingredient of a stir-fry to sing on its own instead of becoming a soggy, heavy mish-mash.

The last trick is a tough one. I know it's a gut reaction to constantly keep poking, prodding and stirring during a stir-fry (which is essential in a massively hot restaurant wok), but resist the urge when you're frying meat or seafood. When you first put your meat in the wok, spread it out so that the pieces are not touching and use all available surface area. Now, step away! Let the meat have a chance to sear. If you keep messing with it, the protein never has a chance to develop that wonderful carmelization and you'll end up with mushy meat.

STIR-FRIED SHRIMP AND EGGS WITH PEAS

1/2 pound raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 large mild chili (Anaheim, Hungarian wax), thinly sliced

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

4 eggs, beaten

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Cooking oil

In a bowl, stir together shrimp, salt, pepper, cornstarch and sesame oil; let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to marinate.

In a wok or large saute pan over high heat, add 1 tablespoon cooking oil, swirling to coat the wok. When the oil is very hot, add the shrimp (the shrimp should sizzle loudly upon contact) and spread out around the cooking surface.

Let fry untouched for 1 minute. Flip shrimp and fry for an additional minute, until cooked through. Remove the shrimp to a plate, leaving as much cooking oil in the wok as possible.

Keep the heat on high, add the garlic and sliced chilies, and fry until fragrant, about 15 to 30 seconds. Spoon out to a small dish and wipe the wok clean with paper towels.

Return the wok to high heat and add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. When the oil is hot (a drop of egg should sizzle immediately), pour in the eggs and gently stir for 1 minute, until almost set but still a little runny in the middle. Add the shrimp and the peas to the wok and stir to mix well until the eggs are completely cooked through.

Dish to serving plate and top with the fried garlic and chilies.

Serves four as part of multicourse meal.

Jaden Hair is a cooking instructor and author of the blog Jaden's Steamy Kitchen at www.steamykitchen.com.

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