Happy year of the snake!
As a person who was fortunate enough to grow up eating kick-ass Chinese home cooking, I have often shunned any kind of “stir-fry” dish you might see at a western restaurant. They’re usually sitting there on the menu, probably included as an exotic and/or “light” alternative, just waiting to suck. Usually it’s just some chicken that tastes mostly like low-quality soy sauce and sugar, garnished with a lot of totally bush-league vegetables (primarily, green peppers, a.k.a., the worst ingredient in the world). It does such an injustice to proper stir-fry that I get a little bit angrypants, because really good stir-fry is so easy to do at home, and is a quick way to put a delicious and healthy meal on the table in under 30 minutes.
So, to spare you the iniquity of having to order one more crappy stir-fry, here are the basics you need to know – plus a recipe for my mom’s killer tomato-beef stir-fry, so you can go home and make this immediately.
A good stir-fry is comprised of three basic elements: ingredients, organized prep and heat. Set out in advance what your key ingredients and flavour profile will be – usually some mix of proteins (chicken, shrimp, pork, tofu), aromatics (garlic, ginger and green onion are the holy trinity, with chilis rounding things out), vegetables (fresh ones that will retain their crunch work best) and sauce base. The next step is to prep everything in advance. Meat will benefit from even 10-15 minutes of a quick marinade (usually of a bit of soy sauce, rice wine and cornstarch to help tenderize), and while that’s happening, you can chop all your aromatics and vegetables. If your knife skills are less than stellar, there are a lot of pre-made sauces, or even pre-chopped garlic and ginger, that can save you prep time.
The reasoning for all this advance preparation lies in the final element of heat: stir-fry operates on a key principle of batch-cooking each set of elements quickly and separately at high temperature, then combining right at the end to meld the layered flavours. You’ll want to be able to move quickly from one ingredient to the next, so having everything chopped and portioned out in advance will save you from fumbling around trying to chop your veggies while your oil starts to burn up.
A few tools and basic ingredients will help make things go easier. Having a wok is not absolutely essential, though most Chinese mothers will insist that food stir-fried in a seasoned cast-iron wok tastes best, and it does make it easier to cook and toss larger quantities of food. However, a heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet will do the trick most of the time – and if you have a gas range stove, all the better. Having a number of small or medium-sized prep bowls can also help so all of your chopped ingredients stay organized and can be quickly tipped into the wok. Finally, a couple of staples are handy to have around as they’ll form the base of many of your sauces or marinades: a basic vegetable oil, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Chinese cooking wine, cornstarch and some chicken stock. Extras like chili-garlic sauce or black bean sauce can also help boost flavour quickly.
The following recipe is a Cantonese homestyle classic and a comfort food go-to for me, combining tender, soy and ginger-marinated seared flank steak with crunchy onions and big wedges of ripe tomatoes that break down to make a tangy, rich sauce. It uses the basic methods described above, but has the benefit of not too much prep (the only chopping is really the onions and tomatoes), and uses a lot of ingredients you’re likely to have on hand (ketchup!). Make sure you slice your flank steak across the grain, which will make it much easier to bite through. Serve over steamed rice, or if you’ve got a bit of extra time, some crispy chow mein noodles.
Tomato-Beef Stir-Fry
Serves 3-4
1 lb flank steak, at least 1 inch thick, sliced against the grain into 2-inch wide strips
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp Chinese cooking wine (gin or whisky also work)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced into thin, wide pieces
Fresh ground pepper
Vegetable oil
1 large white onion, sliced thin into half-rounds
2 tsp chili-garlic sauce*
6 small tomatoes or 3-4 large ones, sliced into wedges
2 tbsp ketchup
½ tsp sugar
⅓ cup chicken or beef stock
Salt to taste
Steamed rice or chow mein noodles
*You can get this at most large grocery stores in the Asian food section – Lee Kum Kee makes a reliable brand. Otherwise, you can substitute chopped fresh garlic and red chilies.
1. In a large bowl, combine the steak, soy sauce, cooking wine, cornstarch and ginger and stir well. Add eight turns of a fresh ground pepper mill and stir in, then set aside.
2. While beef is marinating, slice your onions and tomatoes and have all sauces and stocks at the ready before you start to cook.
3. Heat about 2 tbsp of oil in a large wok or skillet on medium-high heat, until oil begins to smoke. Add the beef and toss frequently until beef begins to brown (it’s fine if it’s a little rare on the inside – the key is to sear the outside surface). Remove beef to a clean mixing bowl. Wipe out wok if necessary with a paper towel.
4. Heat another 2 tbsp of oil on medium-high heat until smoking. Add onions and toss to coat for about 30 seconds. Add chili-garlic sauce and toss to combine for another 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and toss to combine, then let them cook, tossing occasionally, until the tomatoes start to break down (about five minutes).
5. Add ketchup, sugar and stock. Return flank steak to the wok and toss to combine. Allow to boil, then reduce to simmer. The sauce should thicken within a few minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Serve over steamed rice or crispy chow mein noodles.
Sara Chan is a Toronto-based entertainment lawyer, food enthusiast, unprofessional home chef and even less professional food photographer. Her favourite food group is pork.
Photo: romainguy via Wikimedia Commons