Introduction: How to Stir Fry (Baby Bok Choy)

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In this Instructable video (see next step) I show how I like to cook baby bok choy.

You can also use this technique to cook many other vegetables and/or meats.

Theory: I want to mention that Stir Frying is a great way to cook vegetables, you can stir fry just about anything. Cut it up into bite size pieces and experiment. There are a few guidelines to follow but the best way to learn is to jump in and start. High heat is what gives Chinese food that great aroma and taste, similar to the french cooking term Maillard reaction. My mom has a term for it and translated from Cantonese it means `the breath of the wok``.

Use a good wok or pan, something heavy with a thick wall that will absorb and retain heat. There is two reasons for this, at a restaurant, they have huge burners that can heat up a wok super quick, so they can get away with thin woks, the second reason is thin woks will heat up unevenly on smaller less powerful home stove elements or even gas cook tops.

Stir frying is a fast way to cook so you want to cook your foods in small amounts, especially if your burner isn't that hot. Because once you add food to the hot pan it will cool and it will cook quickly and if your burner isn't powerful enough to get the heat back up you end up "stir-steaming". So you lose that brilliant "fry" taste, this is a very common mistake, people overload the pan with ingredients and it ends up steaming them. You want the food to have a "crackling" sound in the pan when they are cooking, kinda like frying a pork chop sound.

So to list my tips:

  1. Use a heavy pan or wok
  2. Don't overload the pan, cook in smaller batches if you need too
  3. Use a quality oil that can be heated to high heat
  4. Have all your ingredients ready and close, stir frying is an active cooking method
  5. Heat the pan to a high temperature before adding the ingredients
  6. Experiment! Everyone`s stove and pans are different

Step 1: Stir Fry Baby Bok Choy - Cooking

Shopping List

Ingredients:

  • 1 lbs Baby Bok Choy
  • Slice of Ginger
  • Oil - Corn, Peanut or Canola

For the Garlic Sauce:

  • 1/4 Cup Chicken Broth
  • 1/4 Cup Chinese Cooking Wine
  • 1 Teaspoon Sugar
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Oyster Sauce
  • 1 Teaspoon Cornstarch with water
  • 12 Cloves of Garlic