Nothing is faster, more fully flavored and, if executed properly, healthier than stir frying. It is most important that you heat the wok up first over medium heat until water drops don’t just dance across the hot wok surface but they vaporize. Oil, when utilized, should smoke immediately when it hits the wok surface. This gives the food, that comes out of the wok, the nuanced, smoky rich flavor that is the hallmark of good wok cookery…The Chinese call those flavors imparted by high heat stir frying in a wok the ‘Breath of the Dragon”.

All recipes are different, but the following are some general tips that should turn you from a wannabe stir fryer into a bona fide Wok Star!

Have all your ingredients prepped and ready, stir frying is a speedy process and you should be familiar with your recipe ingredients before you cook. You don’t have time to peel and chop once you start. Get your stuff set up in small bowls on a work tray. That way you can ‘grab and dump’ as the recipe calls for.

Chop all your ingredients, even the meats and sea foods, into similar sized pieces to promote even cooking.

Heat you wok before adding your oil. Peanut oil works best for most stir frying. You don’t need much, 2 teaspoons or so, swirled across the bottom and sides, will coat a wok just perfectly.

Don’t walk away from the stove. Keep the food in a wok moving with your hand tools, keep stirring and tossing, letting the foods go up the sides and then down to the bottom of the wok.

Only use the highest of heats when cooking. The food must be cooked quickly to preserve color, texture, nutrient content and still be hot and cooked through. This is the miracle of stir frying.

Don’t crowd the wok. This reduces temperature of both pan and food, and makes foods soggy rather than crunchy.

Remember, stir frying is a rather dry process. In order to sear and brown properly one needs to do so in the absence of moisture. This means that most stir frying recipes begin with the oil application, proceed to the adding of aromatics to the pan (ginger, chiles, orange peel etc.), then the vegetables or proteins, and right before plating the addition of some liquid seasonings to the pan (soy, oyster sauce, stocks etc). IF you want a thicker sauce, the addition of a corn starch and water slurry is often tossed in at the end as well.

Read about woks.