the.com/stir fry
controlled chaos in a screaming-hot pan, where dinner happens before you can panic.
means A cooking method—and the dish it produces—in which small pieces of food are fried quickly over high heat while being tossed and stirred constantly.
from A plain English compound of 'stir' and 'fry,' coined as a translation of the Chinese culinary term 'chǎo' (炒), the technique of rapid tossing over fierce heat in a wok. The phrase entered English kitchens in the 20th century as Cantonese and other Chinese cuisines spread westward, with the term widely credited to cookbook writers introducing the method to English speakers—'fry,' for its part, traces back through Old French 'frire' to Latin 'frigere,' to roast or fry.
- wok hei
- the smoky char prized chefs chase at blistering heat
- speed demon
- most dishes finish in under five minutes
- han dynasty roots
- stir-frying records stretch back roughly 2,000 years
- prep first
- everything chopped before flame; no time to chop later
- high flame
- restaurant burners hit heat home stoves can't match
chow mein — chinese noodle stir fry popularized in guangdong province, dating back to the qing dynasty
pad thai — thai rice noodle stir fry with tamarind and fish sauce, national dish of thailand since the 1930s
chow fun — cantonese stir fry using wide rice noodles, signature dish in hong kong dim sum restaurants