Beef Stir Fry Recipe - Two Peas & Their Pod (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient in stir fry? ›

According to Food & Wine, ketchup is the ultimate way to take the flavor of homemade stir fry up a level, thanks to its sweet and sour flavor profile. It just might be the easiest cooking hack to elevate your home cooking to that of your favorite take-out.

Food & Dining

The first is to cook your protein and your vegetable separately, and combine them only after both are fully cooked. A second rule of thumb for stir-frying: Choose one vegetable per stir-fry. Finally, always remember to add liquid only after everything is more or less finished cooking.

First you want to heat up some aromatics in the wok; I prefer ginger, garlic and chili with stir fry. After you turn the heat off add some rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Sesame oil is amazing. Here is a list of some recipes for sauces to add to your stir fry.

Less than a teaspoon of baking soda ensures that your steak remains juicy and tender—even after a speedy marinade. While other recipes demand hours of marinating, this baking soda hack makes a flank steak or any other fibrous cut of beef ready to sear after just an hour.

Marinating beef for your stir-fry is an important second step of velveting that should never be skipped. The marinade isn't as much about soaking the beef in a lot of liquid or adding a bunch of different flavorings like you may be used to. It's about giving the beef an extra juicy texture.

Drain beef strips well before stir-frying. usually about 5 minutes to start — before adding food. Reheat pan between batches. causes the beef to steam rather than brown.

Because stir-frying uses a very high heat, you want a cooking oil that has a high smoke point. Vegetable, canola or peanut oil are my trustee go-tos, and all have a neutral taste, so won't affect flavour. Do not – I repeat, DO NOT – use butter!

Adding Too Much Sauce: While sauce adds flavor, using too much can make the stir-fry soggy. Start with a small amount and add more if needed. Overcooking Vegetables: Vegetables should be vibrant and slightly crisp. Overcooking can lead to a mushy texture and loss of nutrients.

What spices to put in stir-fry? ›

In a small bowl, stir bouillon granules, cornstarch, sugar, onion, garlic, parsley, ginger and red pepper until blended. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Stir mixture before measuring. Use like any dry stir-fry mix.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok, then fry the chilli and garlic for 1 min. Add the veg and toss to coat in the oil. Fry for 2-3 mins, then add the soy and chilli sauce, mixing well. Cook for 2-3 mins more until the veg are tender.

Once the meat is done cooking, add the vegetables to the pan. If you are using fresh vegetables, you will need to stir them around for 4-5 minutes so they start cooking before you add your sauce. When they are starting to feel tender, but still have a lot of bite to them, add the sauce.

Stir-fry onions first, then add hard vegetables such as carrot and broccoli. Quick-cooking vegetables, such as snow peas, leafy greens and bean sprouts, should be added towards the end of cooking. If using vegies that have a combination of both textures, such as gai laan, add the stems first and the leaves later.

Sauce is essential to a good stir-fry because it adds sweet, tangy and salty flavors to the dish. You can use a store-bought sauce or make your own from oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch and broth. Aim for about 2 to 3 tablespoons per person. (Start with these Asian sauces you need to know.)

There are actually a few different ways to tenderise chicken the Chinese restaurant way: marinating in a cornstarch/cornflour sludge then deep frying or blanching in water before proceeding to cook in the stir fry.

What are those crunchy things in your stir-fry? They're water chestnuts, and they're surprisingly good for you! You probably already know a few things about water chestnuts. They're white and crunchy, and you'll find them in a ton of Asian-style stir fry dishes.