STIR-FRIED CUTLETS
TO STIR-FRY PROPERLY YOU NEED PLENTY of intense heat. The pan must be hot enough to caramelize the sugars and proteins in the meat, deepen flavors, and evaporate unnecessary juices. All this must happen in minutes. The problem for most American cooks is that the Chinese wok and the American stovetop are a lousy match that generates moderate heat at best.
Woks are conical because in China they traditionally rest in cylindrical pits containing the fire. Food is cut into small pieces to shorten cooking time, thus conserving fuel. Only one vessel is required for many different cooking methods, including sautéing (stir-frying), steaming, boiling, and deep frying.
Unfortunately, what is practical in China makes no sense in America. Stovetop cooking, in which heat comes at the pan only from the bottom instead of from all sides, doesn't work with a wok. On an American stove, the bottom of the wok gets hot but the sides become only warm. A horizontal heat source requires a horizontal pan. Therefore, for stir-frying at home, we recommend a large skillet, 12 to 14 inches in diameter, with a nonstick coating. If you insist on using a wok for stir-frying, choose a flat-bottomed model. It won't have as much flat surface area as a skillet, but it will work better on an American stove than a conventional round-bottomed wok.
American stoves necessitate other adjustments. In Chinese cooking, intense flames lick the bottom and sides of the wok, heating the whole surface to extremely high temperatures. Conventional stoves simply don't generate enough British Thermal Units (BTUs) to heat any pan (whether a wok or flat skillet) sufficiently for a proper stir-fry. American cooks must accommodate the lower horsepower on their stoves. Throw everything into the pan at one time and the ingredients will steam and stew, not stir-fry.
One solution is to boil the vegetables first so that they are merely heated through in the pan with the other stir-fry ingredients. We find this precooking to be burdensome. After testing, we found that we could avoid precooking by following two strategies. First, cut the vegetables quite small; second, add them to the pan in batches. By adding a small volume of food at a time, the heat in the pan does not dissipate. Slow-cooking vegetables such as carrots and onions go into the pan first, followed by quicker-cooking items such as zucchini and bell peppers. Leafy greens and herbs go in last.
The other option, which works best with green vegetables, is to steam them in the pan. Just stir-fry them in a little oil, add some water, and cover the skillet. Once the broccoli, green beans, or asparagus have cooked, they should be removed from the skillet to prevent color loss or overcooking. Return these vegetables to the pan just before adding the cooked chicken and sauce.
We find it best to freeze chicken for an hour or so to making slicing easier. We tried several kinds of marinades and found that a simple mixture of soy sauce and dry sherry is best. Just make sure to drain the protein before stir-frying. If you add the marinating liquid, the chicken will stew rather than sear.
Many stir-fry recipes add the aromatics (scallions, garlic, and ginger) too early, causing them to burn. In our testing, we found it best to add the aromatics after cooking the vegetables. When the vegetables are done, we push them to the sides of the pan, add a little oil and the aromatics to the center of the pan, and cook briefly until fragrant but not colored, about 10 seconds. To keep the aromatics from burning and becoming harsh-tasting, we then remove the pan from the heat and stir them into the vegetables for 20 seconds. Then the seared chicken is added back to the pan along with the sauce.
A good stir-fry for four people needs only 3/4 pound of chicken to 11/2 pounds of prepared vegetables. This ratio keeps the stir-fry from becoming too heavy and is also more authentic, since protein is a luxury used sparingly in China.
As for the sauces, we have kept the ingredient lists quite simple. We find that a few strongly flavored and carefully chosen ingredients can do the job. We tried thickening sauces with cornstarch but found that it made the sauces gloppy and thick. Without any thickener, they were cleaner tasting and brighter. Just make sure the pan is very hot when you add the sauce so that excess moisture can evaporate, causing the sauce to thicken slightly.