What makes a good stir-fry?
Sometimes all I want for dinner is a big bowl of steaming rice (or noodles) topped with stir-fried veggies, tofu, perhaps a little meat, and, maybe (always) a fried egg. And so, my friends, I ask you, what makes a good stir-fry?
Is it the farmers’ market veggies?
Is it the wok?
Is it the non-farmers’ market add-ins?
Is it how the veggies are chopped?
Is it the sauce?
Stir-Fry Sauce
Adapted from this 1995 Bon Appetite recipe
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup Sherry
1 T. honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. orange zest
Whisk ingredients. Set aside until ready to cook.
Is it the rice?
(This is brown basmati, but I would love to get my hands on some of that short-grained brown rice served at Chinese restaurants.)
Is it the Sriracha?
Dousing the bowl with Sriracha is a must.
Simple Stir-Fry:
I wish I could give more detailed instructions/measurements, but this truly is a no-measure recipe.
1. Cook rice — whatever you like. Set aside. Prepare sauce (recipe above). Set aside.
2. Chop all of your ingredients. The stir-fry takes five minutes of cooking once all the veggies are prepared, so it’s best to have everything chopped ahead of time. This is what I used: onion, cabbage, baby bok choy, rapini, cilantro, snow peas, zucchini, scallions, tofu and peanuts. Be sure to wash the bok choy.
3. Heat wok with about one tablespoon of canola oil until smoking hot. (Alternatively, heat wok without oil, then add oil once hot — I’m not really sure what the difference is, but I think it depends on your pan.) Add tofu cubes and let brown until nice and crispy on one side, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove tofu from wok and set aside.
4. Add onions and zucchini to wok. Let cook until onions are slightly browned. Refrain from stirring — just let the vegetables brown. Add the cabbage, rapini, and bok choy and cook for another two minutes. Stir briefly. Add, the snow peas, scallions, cilantro and peanuts. Add about a ¼ cup (or less) of the sauce and let cook for about a minute. Add the tofu. Turn off the heat. Top rice with veggies and douse with Sriracha.
Print This Recipe
Browse Timeline
Comments ( 31 )
VeggieGirl added these pithy words on Nov 07 08 at 6:03 amLovin’ the wok and the vegetables!! :0)
rg added these pithy words on Nov 07 08 at 6:15 amThis looks delicious and now I want veggies!
Manggy added these pithy words on Nov 07 08 at 9:12 amHmm.. All of the above!
That looks like the perfect stir-fry. I really should pick up a bottle of sriracha one of these days
Maris added these pithy words on Nov 07 08 at 9:28 amThis sounds really good. I made somewhat of a mock stir fry the other night - I just sort of took a whole bunch of veggies and tossed them in a wok with some chicken broth, soy sauce and honey. I think I had the heat up too high and I didn’t really use enough oil. It tasted decent but not like an authentic stir-fry. It wasn’t blog-worthy!
Your veggie combination sounds great!
Rosa's Yummy Yums added these pithy words on Nov 07 08 at 10:59 amA tasty stir-fry! That’s a great wok!
Cheers,
Rosa
Sara added these pithy words on Nov 07 08 at 11:02 amThis looks great, I made a tofu stir fry a few weeks ago from Cooking Light called Buddha’s Delight, I was pretty happy with it.
Jamie added these pithy words on Nov 07 08 at 11:30 amGirl, it’s the Sriracha! I add it to my food every chance I get! Your stir-fry looks great!
Apples and Butter added these pithy words on Nov 07 08 at 12:06 pmI love a good stir fry! It’s so great for loading up on the veggies and I’m with you on the sriracha! Love all of the pictures as well.
I’ve noticed in one of your older posts that you spent some time working in a restaurant. Did you go to culinary school or work in restaurants for some time?
The Blonde Duck added these pithy words on Nov 07 08 at 12:56 pmIt looks wonderful to me!
Clumbsy Cookie added these pithy words on Nov 07 08 at 4:35 pmThe perfect stir-fry? The one that goes into my tummy! I have a looooooot of stir-fries for lunch and love them. Gorgeous one you made here, such beautiful pictures!
ttfn300 added these pithy words on Nov 07 08 at 6:35 pmhaving you make it for me
(and i don’t remember mom making apple butter, but i’ll ask!)
Rowena added these pithy words on Nov 07 08 at 11:39 pmThe veggies! Definitely the veggies! I think I shall take a cue here and look for greens to make a great stirfry. Despite the plethora of produce, it is a very meat (and spam!) oriented food culture here. I need me some greens!!!
noble pig added these pithy words on Nov 08 08 at 1:01 amSomeone told me I had to have the cold to get a good color/texture on it. Have you ever done that?
katie added these pithy words on Nov 08 08 at 6:49 amThat looks like such a wonderful stir fry, I don’t think I would even mind the tofu if it looked like that! I have seen the brown short grain rice at whole foods before in the bulk area. I LOVE short grain rice.
Foodycat added these pithy words on Nov 08 08 at 8:40 amOh you are good! I can never get my tofu crisp without it falling apart (which is why I cop out and buy deepfried).
Grace added these pithy words on Nov 08 08 at 12:53 pmmethinks it’s the sriracha. it’s a magical, magical ingredient.
Bates added these pithy words on Nov 08 08 at 8:41 pmOh stir fry, how I love you. I just made this to dinner and added japanese eggplant and a smidge of ginger. yum!
alexandra's kitchen added these pithy words on Nov 09 08 at 9:07 amGINGER! That’s what it needed. I think bean sprouts are a nice addition too. I’m so glad you liked it, Bates!
Jenny added these pithy words on Nov 09 08 at 9:28 amI love this post! I am a stir fry girl. I could eat it everyday and be happy!
Any Little Reason added these pithy words on Nov 09 08 at 10:16 amOoohhh, that looks so good! Perfect combo!
RecipeGirl added these pithy words on Nov 09 08 at 12:31 pmBeautiful post. I’ve never gotten into tofu much in stir fries, but I love just about everything else. And for me it’s the sauce that really ‘makes’ it.
Have you traveling down to 99 Ranch in Claremont Mesa? It’s heaven for Asian ingredient shoppers!
Bunny added these pithy words on Nov 09 08 at 8:10 pmI think it’s everything together that makes a good stir fry!
Maria added these pithy words on Nov 10 08 at 9:50 amBeautiful photos! I love all of the veggies and tofu! So tasty!
Birdie added these pithy words on Nov 10 08 at 11:48 amI’ve never used Tofu, but this looks easy. Maybe the kids would like this one.
Emiline added these pithy words on Nov 10 08 at 12:07 pmOooh, I love stir-fried vegetables and tofu.
Yes, I always douse mine with several bottles of Sriracha.
biz319 added these pithy words on Nov 10 08 at 1:05 pmLove the crust on your tofu!
Also, I tagged you - don’t feel obligated if you don’t want to!
My daughter and I could have stir fry every day - hubby isn’t such a fan though!
mikky added these pithy words on Nov 11 08 at 9:17 amlovely post…
Lisa added these pithy words on Nov 12 08 at 1:02 pmNice healthful dish!
Jacque added these pithy words on Nov 16 08 at 7:55 pmMmm, you’ve inspired me. This looks wonderful! Love the veggie pics.
We Are Never Full added these pithy words on Nov 17 08 at 4:50 pmit’s clearly all of the above but i would say the best stir-fry’s use older rice (rice that was cooked the day before). it’s also the key to fried rice, but if you have cruddy rice, you can’t save a stir fry!
eke added these pithy words on Jan 14 09 at 12:40 pmThis was a great inspiration! I made it last night for James and me and it was very successful. I added cut-up scrambled egg to the mix and used noodles instead of rice. yum!
