Gastronomous

I had a little bit of everything, but not much of anything in particular: two half peppers, half an onion, two stalks of celery, three big mushrooms and small portion of beef. What could be made out of this? The jack of all trades but ace of none of all culinary dishes: the STIR FRY!

What we all love about stir fry is that it cooks quickly and has lots of color and flavor. Stir fry’s are also great because there is no concern of exact proportioning, measuring or ingredients! But there is a pressing matter of prepping. The only way a stir fry can go wrong  is if its components are overcooked or undercooked, and has to do with the size and texture of the ingredients.

Here is list what works best:

Vegetables:

Celery, peppers, carrots and green onions : cut the same size ( about 1/4 inch julienne)

Mushrooms : cut stem, then slice 1/4 inch thick

Onions: Slice lengthwise into 1/4 inch C’s ( see picture)

Garlic: mince or chop

Meats:

Beef : cut into 1/2 inch cubes then salt pepper and let sit at room temperature 30 mins

Chicken: cut into bite-size portions then salt and pepper.

Pork, lamb or veal: cut into 1/2 in cubes, salt and pepper

Sauce

And here comes the last  blast of flavor: use a soy sauce to make it oriental, chipotle or hot sauce to give a south-west twist, or a little wine for a European touch. I found that white wine works well with  all the meats, but red gives a strange hue to chicken.

How- to:

Prep your meats and your vegetables. In a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat , heat 2Tbls of canola oil. Add the meat and stir fry for 2 minutes, add garlic and sauce or wine and stir fry for another minute. Remove from heats and set aside in separate bowl, cover to keep warm.

In the same skillet add 1 tsp of oil and add the onions, stir fry for a minute then add other vegetables. Lastly, add the mushrooms ( if any) and cook for an additional half minute to a minute, just enough time to see the mushrooms change from white to golden.

Serve immediatly over Rice, orzo or cous-cous  by aranging the plate as follows:  Base of rice, orzo or cous-cous, then layer with vegetables, and top with the meat .

Please note: that all time are approximate and depend on your particular cook-top.