Serves: 5

PRINCIPLES OF STIR-FRYING:
Stir-frying consists of the following steps: heating the pan and oil adding the first seasonings (garlic, ginger root, etc.) then the meat liquid seasonings vegetables stock and a cornstarch paste. This sequence can vary slightly from one recipe to the next: sometimes the vegetable is added before the meat. *

* The vegetable is removed, however, when partly cooked, along with its liquids to permit the meat to cook directly in fresh oil. \iVhen the meat is partly cooked, the vegetable is returned and they complete their cooking togther.

HEATING THE PAN AND OIL:
Always start with the pan dry. Heat it over high heat until the metal becomes hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle. Then add the oil and heat until bubbling, but not smoking. It should be thin and easy flowing. (If oil and pan are not sufficiently hot, the ingredients will stick and become limp.)

ADDING THE FIRST SEASONINGS:
When the oil is heated, add the salt. Stir once or twice. (It will dissolve quickly.) Add the garlic*, and stir-fry constantly. Watch for burning. You may also at this point add and stir-fry sliced scallion stalks and/or ginger root. Other seasonings that can also be added at this point are the fermented black beans or brown bean sauce. As soon as any of these begin to brown and become aromatic, add the meat. (This will immediately lower the pan temperature and prevent burning.)

* The hot oil brings out the garlic's flavor and aroma. The way garlic is added to the pan determines its strength in the final dish. When the clove is cut in half, impaled on a fork and rubbed on the pan's surfaces as the oil heats, garlic is mild and best for such delicate dishes as asparagus. When crushed and browned in the hot oil but removed before the other ingredients are added, the garlic is stronger. When minced fine, browned lightly in the oil and left in the pot to cook with the other ingredients, it's the most aromatic of all.

NOTE: As a short cut, some restaurants keep on hand a mixture of peanut oil, salt and minced garlic. The home cook can do the same, if she wishes, putting the mixture up in a jar. It should be tightly covered and refrigerated when not in use.

ADDING THE MEAT:
Meat is always stir-fried by itself first in very hot oil. It is vigorously tossed and flipped about (to assure even heating and prevent burning) until partly cooked: Beef is partly cooked when it loses its redness and turns brown pork and chicken when they lose their pinkness and turn white shrimp when it starts to turn pink. No other liquid is added at this point. If the pan becomes too dry more oil is added, but never poured directly on the meat. (The oil is added with a wide circular motion inside the rim so that it runs down the sides and is heated by the metal before actually touching the meat. Another way to add oil is to make a well or small clearing at the bottom of the pan-by pushing the ingredients aside-then pouring the oil directly into this so it hits the hot metal before touching the meat.)

NOTE: More than 1 pound of meat should never be added to the pan at once. (A greater quantity would make the temperature of the pan drop too quickly.) When cooking meat in larger quantities, stir-fry it a pound at a time.

The meat should be dry when added. If moist, a layer of steam will form between meat and oil, interfering with the searing process which seals the meat and keeps it juicy. To prevent this, the meat is often tossed first in a cornstarch paste, to give it a tight dry outer coating.

ADDING THE LIQUID SEASONINGS:
Liquid seasonings such as soy sauce and sherry are added in small quantities but not until the meat is partly cooked. (If the meat is too raw, the liquid will toughen it.) When added at the right time, liquid seasonings enable the meat to keep cooking at high temperatures without burning. They also blend with the juices of the meat and bring out its natural flavors. To do this, the liquid seasonings should be slightly heated before contact with the meat. This is done by adding them to the pan like the oil-in a circular motion inside the rim, or else by pouring them directly into a well at the bottom. (This prevents their being absorbed and concentrated in only one part of the pan.)

ADDING THE VEGETABLES:
Like the liquid seasonings, the vegetables usually are added after the meat is partly cooked. The reason is the same: if the meat were still raw, the vegetable juices would toughen it. As a rule, vegetables require less heat than meat and more cooking time. (The coarse vegetables need the longest time and go into the pan before the tender ones.) Pork is usually left in the pan to cook with the vegetables, but beef generally is temporarily removed and returned at the end. Vegetables are stir-fried quickly but gently so they won't break or become mushy. Fragile ingredients such as bean curd are not stirred at all. (They'd be demolished.) The pan is either tilted or shaken to coat them with hot oil and seasonings, or else the pan is rotated quickly and sharply while at the same time, the delicate bean curd is gently pushed about with the back of a spoon to expose all its surfaces to the hot oil.

NOTE: Add the vegetables to the pan a fistful at a time, instead of all at once, so that their initial contact with the oil is at the high pan temperature. This temperature is then maintained until the vegetables are coated with the oil and partially cooked.

ADDING THE STOCK:
A little stock or water is added to the vegetables to soften them and blend their flavors. This stock-like the other liquid seasonings-is never poured directly onto the ingredients but heated slightly first in the same way the liquid seasonings are. The precise amount of stock needed for a given dish is best determined by experience: Some ingredients, being more tender, need less liquid others, being tougher, need more. Some which are juicier give off more liquids others which are drier give off less. In the case of certain vegetables, stock is omitted altogether. (Spinach, water cress and lettuce produce enough liquid of their own.) With others, the heat can be lowered and the pan covered a few seconds. (This will generate just enough steam to cook the vegetable without additional stock.)

Stir-fried dishes are better dry than wet: stock should moisten the dish, not drown it. If the dish has too much sauce, the excess should be poured off before it is served.

ADDING THE CORNSTARCH PASTE:
Although restaurants invariably thicken their sauces, many home cooks do not. This is a matter of personal preference. The thickening agent (a cornstarch paste, made by blending cornstarch, cold water, and occasionally other seasonings) performs a number of useful functions: It enables the sauce to adhere to, coat and flavor the cut-up ingredients. It also gives the dish a glistening, finished appearance. Cornstarch paste goes into the pan at the very end of stir-frying. It is added gradually to the hot liquid and continuously stirred until the sauce is thick, smooth and velvety.

SERVING THE STIR-FRIED DISH:
As has been indicated earlier, stir-fried food, to be at its best, should be served the moment it's done. It is possible, however, to stir-fry certain hard and semi-hard vegetables partially in advance (although not more than about an hour ahead) and then to combine these with the meat, poultry or seafood for the last minutes of cooking.

NOTE: Just before taking the food from the pan, some cooks like to hold the serving dish over the pan for a few seconds to give that dish an additional "taste" or aroma of the stir-fried mixture.

PREPARATION - GETTING ORGANIZED:
The beginner in stir-frying does her best when she's relaxed and not under any undue pressure. The following suggestions on getting organized should help prevent frayed nerves and frazzled tempers:

1. Read the recipe well in advance to see what ingredients are needed and what preparation they require.

2. If dried ingredients are called for, allow time enough for soaking.

3. Slice and neatly stack the meat, poultry or seafood. (These may be sliced several hours in advance, wrapped in foil or transparent wrap and refrigerated until needed.) If they are to be dredged or marinated, allow time for this.

4. Wash, drain and cut the vegetables. (Always have ingredients as dry as possible to prevent spattering.) If parboiling is called for, allow time for this.

5. If more than one vegetable is used, check to see which will be added to the pan first. Separate the longer-cooking from the shorter-cooking vegetables. Stack them separately and neatly. (Stacking them on separate dishes means more dishes to wash. An easier way is to stack them on a stainless steel tray, or rectangular cookie tin. The 14- x 17-inch size is a good one for the latter.)

6. Mix the liquid seasonings (the soy sauce, sherry, etc.).

7. If a cornstarch paste is called for, mix and set this aside.

8. Get out all the other ingredients such as peanut oil, salt, garlic, ginger, scallions, stock, garnish, etc. Arrange these, along with the above ingredients, from left to right, on a table or counter near the stove, setting them out in the same order in which they are to be added to the pan.

9. After measuring and mixing, put away all bottles and jars, etc. Dispose of the disposable as soon as possible. Wash the dirty dishes a few at a time. Don't let them accumulate.

10. Set out the cooking pans, utensils and serving dishes. Set the table.

11. Read the recipe once more to review the cooking pattern (the exact sequence of what should be happening when).

12. Double-check to see that everything is in place. Then light the stove and you're off.

PREPARATION - CUTTING:
Cutting the ingredients properly is essential for successful stir-frying. The following tips will prove helpful:

Trim all fat and gristle from the meat.

Always cut meat for stir-frying against the grain. (First determine the general direction of the fibers, then hold the knife perpendicular to them. For diagonal slicing, shift the angle of the knife slightly.)

Meat for stir-frying should always be sliced thin. This is particularly true for pork: Slice it about 1/16-inch thick. Poultry and beef may be sliced in 1/8-inch, or slightly thicker slices.

Paper-thin slicing is easiest when meat and poultry are partially frozen. (Freeze them completely first, then let thaw slightly before slicing.) Before cooking, defrost completely, or the meat's flavor and tenderness will be impaired.

If the meat seems to be tough, slice it as thin as possible then lay the slices out flat. Pound each slice once with the side of a cleaver-knife blade. (This will tenderize it.)

Slippery ingredients such as garlic, scallions, ginger root and nuts behave better if crushed slightly with the side of a knife blade. They will then lie flat for easier mincing or shredding.

To peel garlic, first tap it lightly with the side of a knife blade. This will loosen the skin for easy peeling.

When shredding ginger, follow the pattern of the fibers, which run vertically down the root.

Keep cutting boards clean. After chopping onions or other strong-flavored foods, always turn the cutting board over before slicing other ingredients.

The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

More Recipes from the Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook Cookbook:
13- Preparing a Complete Meal
14- Serving a Chinese Meal
15- Setting a Chinese Table
16- Chopsticks and How to Use Them
17- Guide to Stir-Frying
18- Chinese Teas
19- Chinese Wines
20- Glossary of Chinese Ingredients: A-K
20- Glossary of Chinese Ingredients: L-S
20- Glossary of Chinese Ingredients: T-Z
21- Substitutions
22- Storing Information
23- Soaking Information
24- Chinese Terminology
25- Mail Order Sources