Cooking in fat · intermediate

Stir-frying

Also: chao

Cooking small, evenly cut pieces quickly over very high heat while tossing them constantly.

What it is

Stir-frying is a Chinese technique for cooking bite-sized ingredients in a wok with a little oil over high heat, adding ingredients in order of cooking time and finishing with a sauce. Indo-Chinese dishes and many Southeast Asian dishes use it too.

Why cooks use it: Very fast cooking keeps vegetables crisp and meat tender, and the wok's hot sides give lightly charred, smoky notes often called wok hei.

The science

The thin, curved wok gives an intensely hot base and cooler sides; tossing moves food through hot and cool zones so it sears without stewing. Wok hei is associated with oil droplets and food vaporising and partly burning in the flame above the wok, which a home burner only partly reproduces.

How heat moves into food The Maillard reaction Smoke point of fats Changing texture: tenderising and crisping

Step by step

Cut everything into similar, small pieces and mix the sauce before you start.
Heat the wok until it just smokes, then add a little high-smoke-point oil.
Add aromatics (garlic, ginger, chilli) for a few seconds.
Add protein in a single layer, let it sear briefly, then toss; remove if cooking in stages.
Add vegetables in order from hardest to softest, tossing constantly.
Return the protein, add the sauce down the hot sides, toss to coat and serve at once.

Heat and timing

Stir-frying 200–300 °C · Wok surface roughly 200–300 °C on a strong burner; home burners are often at the lower end.

Time: 3–8 minutes in total.

How you know it’s right

Loud, continuous sizzle
Vegetables bright and crisp-tender
Sauce glossy and clinging, not pooling

Common mistakes

Overloading the wok so food stews
Cutting pieces unevenly
Adding wet vegetables
Getting ingredients ready during cooking

Troubleshooting

Watery, steamed vegetables: Cook in smaller batches and dry washed vegetables thoroughly.
Meat tough: Slice across the grain and marinate briefly with a little cornflour (velveting).

Restaurant DNA

How professionals do it

Chinese restaurant kitchens use jet-burner wok ranges with far more output than home stoves, and cooks often pass meat through warm oil or water first (velveting) before the final fast toss.

At home

Cook in small batches, get the wok smoking hot each time, and use a carbon-steel wok or a wide cast-iron pan; a cast-iron pan holds heat better on a weak burner.

General professional practice — not any particular restaurant’s recipe.