Many people are now turning to healthy eating habits. Eating oily foods and junk foods cause obesity and overweight related problems. Obesity is now noticed even among small children. So many people are going for finding out the various options to prepare a healthy meal which is nutritious and good for health. One of the healthier ways of cooking the foods is stir frying them. his technique was originally practiced by the Chinese and now it has gained popularity among the people of other countries too.
Stir frying is a method of cooking where very little oil is used and it usually cooks the food very fast. The utensils that are needed for stir frying are just a large skillet and a spatula. The Chinese use what is called a Wok for stir frying. Wok looks similar to a skillet. Stir frying is an easy method of cooking which can be learnt easily by the beginners. In stir frying, the meat or the vegetables that are used for cooking need to be cut in small pieces. Thumb size chunks of food would be ideal for stir frying. Stir frying also helps you to retain the flavors and texture of the foods stuff. You will be able to enjoy the original taste of the foods as the food stuffs are not over cooked in stir frying.
Before stir frying, you need to prepare all the ingredients as mentioned in the recipe and keep them ready. You need to cut the vegetables and the meat as mentioned in the recipe. It is always better to have same sized pieces to ensure that they cook uniformly. The wok or the skillet which you are using needs to be preheated on a medium to high flame for a minute. After preheating, add the oil which you are using for stir frying. Most of the recipes call for vegetable oils such as peanut oil or canola oil which are suitable for stir frying. Pour the oil in such a way that it spreads all over the sides and the bottom of the skillet. The recipes for stir frying use very little oils say 2- 3 tablespoons and not more than that.
The next step is to add the ingredients. Before adding the vegetables, you need to add the seasoning to the oil. Usually a piece of ginger or garlic is added to it. A t this point you can reduce the flame to prevent burning of the spices. Then you add the main ingredients of the stir fry. If you are using both meat and vegetables in the recipe, add the meat first, cook and set it aside. Add the vegetables next and cook them by tossing and turning them over frequently using a spatula. This is the main important aspect of stir frying. This technique helps the food to cook uniformly from all the sides. The food also retains their individual flavors. Most of the cooking in a stir fry is done on a high flame, but you need to reduce the flame sometimes in between to prevent the food from burning.
When you are stir frying meat, do not add more than a cup of meat at a time. Make sure that you lay out the food flat on the skillet for cooking. The meat should be removed from the skillet when it changes color. While stir frying vegetable, you have to add the high density vegetables such as carrots, eggplant, broccoli first because they require greater time for cooking. You can also stir fry different vegetable separately and keep them aside. You need to make sure that the vegetables are drained properly after washing them. Once you add the vegetables to the skillet, move your spatula fast to toss the food so that they cook uniformly and to prevent burning of food.
When you add the sauce, you have to make a well in the centre of the skillet by pushing the vegetables to the sides and then add the sauce in the well and cook it. Once the sauce is cooked and is thickened, you can combine the vegetables and the meat to the sauce and adjust the taste of the seasoning. Serve the stir fry dish immediately. Stir frying technique call for adjusting the flame temperature frequently from high to medium high temperatures during the entire process. The food stuffs cook very fast in this method. So you need to be alert to prevent the burning of the foods by stirring them often while cooking. You can also add pre cooked noodles or rice at the last stage when the vegetables and meat are ready to serve.
The main benefits of stir fry cooking technique is that it requires very less time for cooking. The dishes can be prepared in a jiffy. The vegetables and the meat retain most of the essential nutrients and minerals. Very little oil is sufficient for cooing a stir fry because most of the cooking if done in a high flame which makes the skillet pan very hot. Stir fry cooking allows you to enjoy the original flavors of the individual foods.
