Recipes for Stir Fry That Are Chinese Inspired

Everyone loves a Chinese stir-fry and we all know that every once in awhile, we crave for Chinese take-outs.  Stir fries are easy, full of creativity and high-heat cooking with only very little oil, and can be duplicated in your kitchens.  Here are two very easy recipes for stir fry that are Chinese inspired for you to learn at home.  Have fun during these holidays. 

1.    CHICKEN-MUSHROOM LO MEIN:

This is one way of enjoying Chinese food at home without takeouts.  This homemade lo Mein is easy to prepare and really tastes terrific.  Serves four and preparation time is only thirty minutes.

WHAT YOU NEED TO HAVE:

• 12 ounces chicken breasts or thighs, please debone and remove skins
• 2 tablespoons  soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 2 teaspoons Cornstarch
• 8 ounces  linguine
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (3 cups)
• 1 medium red or green sweet pepper, cut into 2-inch strips (1 cup)
• 4 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 6 ounces fresh pea pods, strings removed (1-1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon bouillon granules, pls. choose the chicken flavor

HOW TO MAKE IT:

• Please cut the chicken into bite size pieces.  Using a small mixing bowl, mix together the soy sauce, the dry sherry and cornstarch.
• Then add the chicken cuts. Mix with hands to coat the sauce. Cover and marinade in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook linguine separately according to package directions, omitting oil and salt. Drain well and reserve.
• Begin frying by adding cooking oil and sesame oil to a wok or 12-inch skillet and heat over medium-high flame on your American stove.  You can add more oil if necessary during cooking. 
• Then add mushrooms, red or green sweet peppers and green onions to the wok and stir fry for two minutes.  Then add the pea pods and stir fry for about one minute more until vegetables are crisp-tender.
• Please transfer vegetables to a plate and reserve.
• Then drain the chicken of its marinade and reserve the liquid.
• Stir fry the chicken cuts for two to three minutes until it is no longer pink.  Combine the water, bouillon granules and the reserved marinade then add to the wok.  Cook and stir until the sauce thickens and bubbly.
• Then add the drained linguine and the cooked vegetables.  Stir to coat the ingredients together.  Cook and fry for about one minute more until verything is heated through.
• Serve while with hot steaming rice if you wish. 

2.    EASY CHINESE SZECHWAN SHRIMP:

All you need is a pot of rice to bring this Szechwan Shrimp recipe to life. Add a few snow peas on each plate. This dish is really healthy too. Enjoy the meal. This can be ready in thirty minutes.

WHAT YOU NEED TO HAVE:

• 1 pound shrimp, frozen or fresh, deveined and shells removed
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups hot cooked rice

HOW TO MAKE IT:

• If shrimps are frozen, thaw them first. Then peel the shells off and devein the shrimps.  Cut in half lengthwise. Then rinse and pat dry using paper towels and reserve.
• Prepare the sauce.  On a small mixing bowl stir together the water, catsup, the soy sauce, the rice wine or dry sherry, the cornstarch and the honey and lastly the ground ginger and crushed red pepper.  Reserve for frying..
• Begin frying by pouring peanut oil into a large skillet or wok on medium high heat on your American stove. 
• Then add the green onions, the garlic and fresh grated ginger and stir fry for thirty seconds until fragrant.
• Then add the shrimps.  Stir fry for two to three minutes until the shrimp turn opaque in color.  Then push to sides of skillet and stir in the sauce in the center.  Cook and stir until sauce thickens and bubbly for two minutes more.  Then combine the sauce and shrimps together.
• Serve immediately these recipes for stir fry and great if you pair it with steamed rice.

 You can also visit here to learn on how to cook Stir Fry Recipe.

Everyday Recipes for stir fry

Recipes for stir fry

Recipes for stir fry can be very simple with meat or just plain vegetables, with sauce or without. IN stir frying vegetables are quickly cooked that is why they remain crisp-tender and fresh.  The meats remain tender because they are sliced thin for even and fast cooking.  The wok is the ideal pan to use in stir frying but without it to stir fry in you can still use a large skillet and do the same method.   Here are a few stir fry recipes that we can do in your own kitchens, classified as easy and quick. 

1. STIR-FRIED CHICKEN AND SHRIMP:  Can be ready in thirty minutes and makes six servings.  This is made with vegetable oil, chicken breasts, bok choy or Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, green pepper, onions and carrot with the participation of shrimps and chicken stock.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 boneless chicken breasts, skinned and cut in strips
• 2 cups bok choy, please chop them or use the Chinese cabbage and chop them
• 1 cup sliced bamboo shoots
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 sweet green pepper, cut in 3/4-inch squares
• 1 small carrot, thinly sliced (optional)
• 1 pound peeled deveined shrimp, thawed if frozen
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• hot cooked rice

PROCEDURE:

• In wok or large skillet, heat oil over high heat in your American stove.  The add chicken and stir-fry until barely cooked through for one to two minutes.
• The add the vegetables starting with bok choy, the bamboo shoots, the mushrooms, onion, green pepper, and carrots.   Stir fry for one minute.
• Stir in the shrimp and add the stock and sherry.  Cover the pan and let is simmer until shrimp are pink for one to two minutes.
• Then mix the cornstarch with soy sauce and pour into the wok and cook, stirring, until the sauce liquid has thickened. Serve while hot over rice.

2.    BOK CHOY MUSHROOM STIR-FRY:  This recipe is loaded with mushrooms, sautéed with soy sauce, lemon juice and sugar fried in canola oil and seasoned with onions, red bell pepper, garlic, ginger and bok choy. This can be ready in thirty minutes and can serve four persons.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1 pound coarsely chopped bok choy
• 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

PROCEDURE:

• Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat on your American stove. 
• Add the onions, pepper, garlic, and ginger and stir until fragrant for one minute.
• Add the bok choy and mushrooms and stir fry for about one minute.
• Add the lemon juice, soy sauce, and sugar.  Stir fry for about two to three minutes until done.
• Serve while hot and can be great if paired with hot steaming rice. 

You can do these recipes for stir fry easily in your kitchens and enjoy their flavors like you are having a Chinese takeout dinner.  Most of us have learned to eat Chinese Cuisines’ takeout orders as alternatives to dinner outs.  But these recipes will prove to be very economical and fun to make in your kitchens.   Enjoy and please continue to stir fry at home.  

 You can also visit here to learn on how to cook Stir Fry Recipe.

Beef Chow Fun Our Recipes for stir fry

Recipes for stir fry

There are several recipes for stir fry that can be found in the internet or perhaps in cookbooks sold in bookstores near you.  But learning how to cook the beast stir fries at home would take a little time that would involve experimenting, trials and creativity.  In crafting your best stir fries, you have to have the best solutions to create your own stir fry sauce that would solved your expected combinations for saltiness, sweetness, bitterness and perhaps sourness, blended together in a balance to sauté your choice of vegetables and protein.  You may attempt to collect certain stir fry recipes and perhaps change a few of its ingredients to suite your desires.    But these recipes may never come perfectly for anyone, especially if the cooking is done in your own kitchen.    It is because you may not have the right heat you will need, the freshest ingredients, or the perfect cuts for your protein of choice.  But here is a recipe that may help you cook beef at home that might lead to create your own perfect stir fry.

BEEF CHOW FUN:

Brown sugar added to black bean-garlic sauce is what gives this stir-fry its unmistakable Chinese takeout flavor. This recipe also works well with tofu for a vegetarian meal or chicken breast, deboned and skinless.  Serve with sliced cucumbers tossed with rice vinegar, sesame seeds and a pinch of salt.  The recipe can make four servings and can be prepared in thirty minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 ounces wide rice noodles, preferably brown-rice noodles
• 1/2 cup Shao Hsing or dry sherry
• 4 teaspoons black bean-garlic sauce
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
•  2 teaspoons cornstarch
• Four teaspoons canola, please divide into two
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• One bag of fresh Asian stir fry vegetables (12 ounces or about 5 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup water, divided
• 8 ounces sirloin steak, cut into thin slices

THE PROCEDURE:

• Begin by heating a pot in your American stove.   Fill it with water and bring to a boil.
• Then add noodles then cook, stirring frequently, until just tender for four to six minutes.  Then drain and rinse the noodles with cold water before you transfer them to a large bowl to sit.
• To prepare your sauce, mix together Shao Hsing (or sherry), soy sauce, black bean-garlic sauce, brown sugar and cornstarch in a small mixing bowl and reserve.
• Begin frying by heating two teaspoons oil in your wok or large skillet over medium high heat at your American stove.  Then reduce the heat to medium.
• Add ginger and cook, stirring for thirty seconds. Add onion and cook, stirring until softened for one to three minutes.
• Then add the vegetables plus one fourth cup water and cover the pan to cook but stir occasionally until the vegetables become tender-crisp for about two to four minutes.
• Then transfer the vegetables to a bowl with the noodles. Please wipe the pan dry.
• Reheat your pan and add remaining two teaspoons oil in the skillet over medium high heat.
• Then add the steak cuts and cook, stirring, until browned for one to three minutes.
• Stir in the reserved sauce and add to the pan.  Cook and stir until the sauce has thickened slightly for one to two minutes.
• Then return the noodles with the vegetables to the pan and the remaining one fourth cup water and cook, tossing to coat with the sauce, until heated through for about two minutes more.
• Serve immediately while hot and enjoy this recipe for stir fry at home.

TIPS TO REMEMBER:

Notes: 

• Look for dried wide rice noodles, sometimes called “Pad Thai noodles” in the Asian stores or at supermarkets.  We prefer to use them because they have fiber per serving while there are no fibers in noodles made with white rice.
• Shao Hsing or Shaoxing is a Chinese seasoned wine made from rice. It can be found in most Asian specialty stores and in some larger supermarkets with Asian sections.
• Sherry is a type of fortified wine that is originally produced in southern Spain and is a good substitute.  Refrain from using “cooking sherry” it can be high in sodium.  You can also use dry sherry sold with other fortified wines at your liquor store.
• The black bean-garlic sauce is a salty and savory sauce used in Chinese cooking which is garlic, rice wine and fermented black soybeans.  You can find it in the Asian specialty stores or most supermarkets.  You can refrigerate the bottle and it will last for a year.

NUTRITION:

• Per serving: 381 calories; 8 g fat ( 1 g sat , 4 g mono ); 21 mg cholesterol; 57 g carbohydrates; 1 g added sugars; 15 g protein; 3 g fiber; 723 mg sodium; 223 mg potassium.
• Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (37% daily value), Vitamin A (30% dv).

 You can also visit here to learn on how to cook Recipe for Stir Fry.