Last night we both agreed that we were in the mood for putting together a stir-fry. That got me thinking that it would be a perfect opportunity to take some pictures and prove to anyone out there that anyone *can* cook.

Stir Fry is one of the simplest ways and most rewarding ways to jump into cooking. It’s very simple. You get some random vegetables, a protein if you wish it, chop everything until it’s small, then get some cooking vessel and drive it until it’s rocket hot, little timing, zero futzing, and as a little reward you get to put some serious hurt on your food.

Step One:

Clear a space and set up your cutting board. How big should your board be? Find your longest knife and get a board that is bigger than that. Plain wood is best, as it’s “fast”, bamboo is “slow” as well as plastic. Anything else is murder on your knives. When I speak of “fast” and “slow” it has everything to do with how easy the knife can slide on that surface. When you are knocking down a big batch of vegetables it’s really pleasant to have a minimum of drag on the surface you are cutting on.

Step Two:

This is called “Mise en Place” and it’s vital if you are going to cook and not lose your marbles. Get all your ingredients out and handy, get them washed and trimmed and make sure if you are working with a recipe that you’ve at least read it through once first so you don’t run into any surprises. With stir fry, the mise-en-place is the most time-consuming part and leads to the most rewarding.

Step Three:

This is Mise-en-Place all finished. Get everything arranged and in bowls, cut to the size you like. Here we have Broccoli, Red and Green Bell Peppers, Daikon Radish, Garlic, Mushrooms, Green Onions, and Peapods. The beauty of a stir fry is that it can hold whatever it is that you like, don’t like something? Leave it out. Want to add something in? Chop it up and include it. Here is where the order comes in handy. In general when cooking remember that the tougher and bigger stuff will take longer to cook than the softer and smaller stuff will take. So when you assemble order, start with the peppers and broccoli, then the peas, then the mushrooms, onions, radish, and finally the garlic. Generally garlic ALWAYS goes last. Garlic is a thermal wimp and really hot temperatures don’t do it any favors.

Step Four:

Get yourself a big wok or in this case a metal mixing bowl that is supersized. Use Peanut Oil as it can take an obscene amount of heat without bursting into flames, how much? A blop-blop-plop. Once the oil is super hot and very angry bring in your mise-en-place. The peppers are first, let them fall in carefully and savor the angry sizzling action. Have someone standing by, handle in one hand, wooden spoon in the other, stirring like crazy. Everything else is a two-minute-and-throw process. For this dish we also prepared some cubed chicken for our protein but you don’t need meat to make this a meal. We also added rice noodles and some sesame oil as a final garnish. There are some oils that are workhorses, like Peanut Oil, and there are some that are just there to be pretty, like Sesame Oil. Much like garlic, sesame isn’t meant for the hots, it’s meant for you damn near at the end. If you like your stir fry salty, use a little soy sauce but keep in mind that a little goes a long way.

This is a great and very cheap way to feed yourself. The most expensive thing here was the oils. The veg is very cheap and you can skip the protein altogether if you like. One little last parting note and that is when putting the spurs to Broccoli, when it’s raw it’s green, cook it until you see that green go from vegetable-green to emerald-green and then stop cooking it. Broccoli is evil if it’s overcooked, and with a stir fry like this one, if your vegetables are underdone it’s not heartbreak, it’s texture. The only thing you can’t skimp out on when it comes to proper doneness is whatever protein you’ve selected.

Afterwards, cleanup on the mise-en-place bowls are all a snap. Anything that holds vegetation that isn’t avocado can be rinsed clean and put away. It looks like a lot of bowls and a lot of dishwashing, but it’s not really as bad as it seems.

With this, you have an excellent source of your vegetables which you really must eat, and everything else is optional. You can make it as complicated or as simple as you wish and if you cook enough, like we did, it makes instant leftovers for lunches and dinners for at least two days afterwards. 🙂 It’s good for you, it’s cheap, it’s easy. How can you go wrong?