Asian Take-In Food

Since Asian food was among one of the restaurants that won the second Everything but the Kitchen Sink blog poll, it creates a demand for some basic stir fry ideas and techniques. Stir fry is generally thought to be an Asian dish popular in Chinese cooking, but the base idea of quickly cooking vegetables and protein over high heat and serving over rice extends into Thai cooking as well. They can be a great diet staple for those with gluten allergies, and can be made with or without meat. Most stir-frys are cooked in woks, which can either be electric or just like a deep concave stove-top skillet. Either works fine, and no rice cooker is needed either. In a pinch, a large sautee pan will work to cook the dish in, so while the end product may taste exotic, it can be made with everday materials and ingredients. As far as choosing vegetables, carrots, celery, red and yellow bell peppers, mushrooms, green onions, bean sprouts, snow peas and broccoli are all good to use in combinations. Water chesnuts and bamboo shoots are normally found canned, and can be tasty, too. It doesn't seem like there would be many options for rice as vegetables, but cooking time, color, texture, shape and flavor can be different with each variety of rice. Brown rice takes a lot longer than white to cook, but adds extra nutrients and fiber. Stir-fry is a great way, even, to sneak brown rice into the meals of kids and those reluctant to eat anything remotely good for them. Forbidden rice, which is black, can be difficult to find, but is extremely delicious and not to be confused with wild rice, which actually isn't a rice at all (it's a grass). Short on time? Check out the frozen section of most supermarkets because they often have white and brown rice available precooked in microwavable servings. Short on cash? Get bulk rice and fix a large amount on an evening when there is some spare time. Then portion out small amounts of rice and freeze. They come back to life with a gentle thawing and reheating. Sauces are generally soy sauce based, but can include different chile pastes (i.e. Thai chile paste), hoisin sauce (a sweet Chinese barbecue sauce), rice wine or sherry vinegar, even citrus juice. Chinese five spice, ginger, and garlic are all popular spice choices as well. A good suggestion for a great tasting Asian dish is to choose something from every taste and combine them. Salty soy sauce, sweet hoisin sauce, acidic sherry vinegar, spicy ginger and savory garlic combined make an excellent marinade for meat and vegetables. To get a good ratio, plan for 1/4 cup of sauce for every portion of stir fry. Then divide equally the soy, hoisin, vinegar and add about 1/4 tsp. per serving of chinese five spice, ginger and garlic. Fresh pressed garlic and ginger taste amazing, just be aware they have a much stronger flavor and go a bit lighter on them.  Making a great stir fry is all about preparation. Having all the vegetables cleaned, chopped and ready to go, and having the meat or protein marinading and thawed is very important. Cooking is done at high temperatures and is a bit like a roller coaster. Once it stops, there is no time out. If making rice, start it before the rest of the stuff goes into the wok. Choose a light colored oil, such as grapeseed or vegetable, and put a couple of tablespoons in the bottom of a hot wok. Start with the vegetables that take the most time to cook first (like carrots and celery) and every couple of minutes add more vegetables until they are all in the wok. Make sure to use two high temperature safe spoons to toss the vegetables and make sure they cook evenly. After vegetables are about 70 percent done, remove them and add a tablespoon more oil and cook protein (without marinade, but save it). Putting ingredients into a hot wok will be noisy and can splatter a bit, so be prepared. Toss meat the same way, and when the meat has a nice sear on the outside add the vegetables back to the wok and add the marinade. Turn down the heat slightly, but keep at a moderate heat until the meat is fully cooked. Serve over rice and enjoy.