Stir fries really are the ultimate weekday meal. They’re fast and low-effort to throw together once you have the basic technique down. Most easy stir fry recipes follow a similar basic formula, meaning they are also super customizable to suit your tastes—as well as substitution-friendly. That makes stir fries a great dish for one of those “clean out the fridge” nights when you’ve got various ingredients you need to use up (or just don’t feel like running to the store).
Stir fries simplify your cooking in another way too, because they typically offer a nutritionally balanced, complete, and filling meal in one dish. The standard components of a stir fry usually include noodles or rice, meat (or a plant-based protein), cooking oil, and vegetables—which matches up extremely well with general expert advice on how to build a satiating and enjoyable meal. SELF columnist Jessica Jones, M.S., R.D., certified diabetes educator and cofounder of Food Heaven, has previously told SELF that the most physically and emotionally satisfying meals generally include three to four food groups: fat, protein, starch, and fruits or vegetables. “By doing this, you will not only get a variety of textures and flavors, but also nutrients that work together to provide you with a steady, stable stream of energy,” according to Jones.
Most important of all, however, is the fact that stir fries are damn delicious. You’ve got that mix of textures (crunchy veggies, chewy noodles, and tender meat) and flavors (largely from the sauce, which can hit notes that are savory, salty, tangy, and sweet). Plus, stir fries are by definition made fresh from scratch, meant to be eaten steaming hot off the stove.
Are you sold on making stir fries for dinner every night yet? If you’re looking to add some more stir fries to your weeknight rotation, we’ve got pro tips and tricks, plus a collection of easy stir fry recipes to get you cooking.
What makes a stir fry a stir fry?
A stir fry is defined not by what’s in the dish so much as how it’s made. “A stir fry is a cooking method originally from China that is characterized by cooking your food over very high heat while keeping it in constant motion, typically in a wok or skillet,” stir fry fan Mike Le, who runs I Am a Food Blog with his wife Steph, tells SELF.
In addition to high heat and continuous movement (produced by tossing or stirring), stir fries call for a relatively small amount of cooking oil with a high smoke point that can handle high heat, Le says (like canola, vegetable, avocado, or peanut oil). The method also requires cutting the ingredients (like meats and veggies) into small, uniform pieces that cook quickly and evenly, Le explains. (This also makes your bites easier to eat with chopsticks.)
The stir frying method also entails either cooking your ingredients in separate batches, or being strategic about the sequence in which you add your ingredients to make sure each is cooked for the perfect amount of time. “Stir fry masters typically either cook meats and vegetables separately, removing and recombining them at the end,” Le explains, “or they time the addition so that the longest cooking ingredient is added first and flash-fried ingredients are added last.”
