A perfect Stir-Fry

I admit, I am a stir-fry freak. Not as much as I am a Sudoku freakazoid, as I could sit and do 4 of those addicting puzzles at a time and still crave more of the challenge; No, I couldn't crank out 4 stir-fry dishes without totally wrecking my chopping hand, but man alive....I love a good stir-fry!!

I once thought that it wasn't too difficult to make a good stir-fry: chop, saute, season, sauce, mix and eat. How hard is that?? Boy was I naive! Some of them turned out so underdone that I thought I might as well have eaten the veggies raw, and others were so overcooked that I had no ability to distinguish each veggie from the other in the mushy mass on my plate. Your best bet? Don't follow the recipe, follow your instincts. Or better yet, follow these time honored and hard-won instructions for making the best tasting stir fry you can get outside an authentic restaurant.

Make everything uniform in size and it will cook more evenly. Firm veggies will take longer to cook, but if they are all the same size, you can bet you will have a better texture on your plate at the end. Broccoli will take a while to cook in a hot saute pan (or wok, for those who desire more authenticity) and your best bet is to stir fry it to a bright green, add a little water and then cover to steam the florets for a few minutes. Once a fork can penetrate the pieces without too much resistance, remove them to a bowl. Peppers, when cut to thin julienne slices, will cook quickly, fry for a few minutes only. Carrots are good in a stir fry, and the ability to buy them now in pre-shredded bags makes for such an easy addition, just slice the top open and dump in what you want. They only take a couple of minutes as well. If you keep a big bowl by your stove as you cook, just add the veggies in as you fry them. In the end, you can put them all back in the pan with the sauce and heat them through and no one will even know. Your meat choice can also be cooked to about 3/4 doneness, as long as it finishes in the sauce. I discovered a wonderful technique for making stir fry meat nice and tender, it's called velveting, and the wonderful publication Cooks Illustrated is responsible for this technique. Mix until smooth 1 tbsp. flour, 1 tbsp. cornstarch and 2 tbsp. of your stir fry oil (i prefer peanut, as the smoke point is higher and the flavor is unsurpassed) Pour this mixture over your meat and mix well, then dump it into your hot pan and spread out the pieces. Allow to cook without moving for a few minutes, then stir and move the meat as needed to finish. The coating will seal in the juices making your protein addition very moist and tender. It can be used on pork, chicken or beef with equally good results.

Aromatics, like garlic and ginger don't need much cooking at all, maybe 30 seconds. Add them in with one of the veggies for additional flavor, then put them into the bowl and mix that all up to dispense even more of their intoxicating tastes. Pea pods are best when still crisp, give them a minute or two for that pretty green color, but not too much more. Soggy pea pods are like chewing on string. And speaking of that, be sure to de-string them, otherwise you will be chewing string whether or not they are cooked properly. Green onion is mostly for garnish, it shouldn't be cooked too long at all, or best of all, toss finely chopped green onion over the top of the finished dish and simply enjoy it piquant bite as you eat. Skip the white part if onion isn't your thing. Nuts are wonderful in a stir fry, they are best as a garnish as well. Peanuts, cashews. almonds and pistachios all add wonderful flavor, a great offset texture of crunch and some nutritional value as well. A base for all these tantalizing ingredients can be either rice or noodles; there are some wonderful rice noodle varieties available, which are thin and very translucent and can absorb a lot of flavor from whatever sauce you use. I have used multi-grain spaghetti noodles too with excellent results. Ronzoni makes the best kind. Any kind of sauce works well, and there are a lot of bottled varieties that make for an easy application. I am including my very favorite stir fry recipe that uses mostly pre-made bottled sauce varieties. This one is simple, delicious and really, really easy. I hope you like it.

Chicken with Asparagus Stir Fry

1 T. toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 # fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1" pieces
1 # chicken tenders or boneless breasts, cut into 1" pieces
2 scallions, trimmed and cut to 1"
1 shallot, minced
1 red pepper, cored seeded and cut into 1" pieces
1/2 c. snow peas, de-stringed and cut in half
2 T. minced fresh ginger
1/4 c. oyster sauce
2 T. garlic chili sauce
1/2 c. shelled salted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Heat oil in large skillet or wok over high heat. Add asparagus and red pepper, stir fry for about 4 minutes, then add snow peas and stir fry 2 minutes. Remove to bowl and keep warm. Swirl a scant 1/2 t. more of oil in pan and add chicken, allow to cook until browned on one side, then flip over and cook until you can't see any pink. Add sauces, ginger, shallot and scallions, stir to combine. Add vegetables and stir to coat. Cook about 5 -8 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink. Serve over rice, if desired.Top with pistachios.