Restaurant stir-fries have that browned, smoky quality I can't reproduce on my ordinary home stove. When I put all the vegetables and chicken into one pan, they release water and steam. I'm starting to cook small batches, dry ingredients well and add sauce only near the end. What technique gives the biggest improvement without a high-powered wok burner? I don't expect perfect wok hei, just food that isn't a watery vegetable stew.
Making stir-fry in a home pan that cannot hold restaurant-level heat
- practical-cooking
- stir
- home
- cannot
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4 replies
The biggest improvement for me was drying the ingredients more than I thought necessary. Wet chicken and wet veg will steam no matter how de...
The biggest improvement for me was drying the ingredients more than I thought necessary. Wet chicken and wet veg will steam no matter how determined the pan is. Small batches help, but they only work if the pan stays hot enough between additions.
I think the pan temperature matters more than people admit. If the oil isn't shimmering before the food goes in, you're starting behind. Then you get that sad gray stir-fry instead of something with a little color.
My low-tech version is to cook the meat first, remove it, then do the vegetables, then put everything back with sauce at the end. It's not f...