Recipe of the Week

Stir fry is a favorite of mine for a handful reasons. First of all, it's a simple one dish meal - always a plus. Second, it's healthy - at least it should be. And third, you can make up the ingredients as you go. Generally I grab whatever meat I have thawed and then rummage through the vegetable drawer of the fridge. There are always odds and ends needing to be eaten. My stir fry is simple, but very good. The key is not ingredients (though they help), but rather the temperature at which everything is cooked. Ever been to one of those teppanyaki restaurants where those crazy Japanese guys prepare your meal right in front of you? Not only is the experience mesmerizing (flying knives, flames, food being chopped at the speed of light, etc.), but the freshly cooked meal they then place in front of you tastes like it took much greater effort to prepare than it actually did. One thing I can guarantee is that they don't keep the heat on low or even medium when they're throwing (literally) together your meal. Oh no. That iron grill is HOT HOT HOT! And so is the pan I cook my stir fry in! Sure, you can guarantee a greasy cooking surface when all is said and done, but THAT is the key to a good stir fry. Here's my basic recipe.

Stir Fry

Ingredients:

• 1-1 1/2 pounds meat: I either use chicken, steak (london broil is great but any cut will do) or pork, thinly sliced.
• 4-5 cups vegetables: carrots, broccoli, onion, bell pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, cabbage, peas, asparagus, garlic, anything! Other possible additions include: bean sprouts, water chestnuts and those miniature corn on the cobs you can find near the pickles in the grocery store.
• Oil: peanut, canola or olive - they all work great.
• Rice: long grain or jasmine or a combination of the two.
• Seasonings: I use garlic salt and soy sauce - that's all!

Instructions:
First, start your rice. I use long grain rice, which takes 25-30 minutes to cook. Last night I discovered I didn't have enough, so I ended up doing half long grain and half jasmine, which worked fine. Even though the directions say the rice takes about 20 minutes, I find the that longer it simmers in the pan, the fluffier and lighter it gets. So my rice often sits on LOW LOW heat for up to 40 minutes, and it turns out perfect. I can't stand it when my rice isn't entirely cooked through or hasn't absorbed all the water.

Chop and slice everything PRIOR to beginning the cooking process. Stir frying is fast, and you need to have everything ready to go before you turn the heat up. Here's how I prepare everything:

• Meat - thin strips
• Carrots, onions, and peppers - julienne strips
• Zucchini - half moon slices
• Cabbage, mushrooms, asparagus and broccoli - chopped
• Garlic - minced

I add the peas last, straight out of the freezer bag. I never measure anything. I just use however much of each ingredient seems right (or whatever I need to finish off) until I have 4-5 cups.

Place a large frying or stir fry pan over medium/high heat. My stove has a heating range of 1-10. I usually have it between 6 and 7. After 3-4 minutes, add oil to the pan (almost enough to coat the bottom, but not quite). Wait another couple minutes for the oil to heat up, then throw the meat in. Chances are, you'll see immediate splattering, but this means you've got a good temp going. Brown the meat - and I mean really brown it! That's what gives it such great flavor. Generally I cook the meat no longer than 5 minutes, even if it isn't cooked all the way through. You don't want to dry it out, and it will eventually be making its way back to the pan, so don't worry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper or garlic salt, then transfer to a plate, reserving any meat juices in pan. At this point you may need to add a little more oil, just depending on how much the meat absorbed. Use your own judgement. While the pan it still hot, throw the veggies in. Saute for about 5 minutes. Then turn to low/medium (between 3 and 4) and cover. Let veggies simmer another 5-10 minutes, or until desired tenderness is reached. Add meat back to pan, mix well, cover and turn off heat, and let sit an additional 3-5 minutes. At this point it's probably more common to drizzle the stir fry with soy sauce (or any other sauce you want to use). Since Neil and I like different quantities, we wait until we've served ourselves to add it. Serve over rice, obviously.

Truly, this is such an easy and delicious dish to make! And amazingly enough, it needs very little seasoning. The soy sauce is obviously flavorful, but even just the combination of meat and veggies being cooked a high temperature creates a naturally great flavor. I think we have stir fry once a week and we never get tired of it. I much prefer steak over chicken or pork, but any meat makes this dish amazing! Hope you enjoy.