Low Fat Stirfry
Steve Russell
in water ( didnt work to well ). It seems most oils have
at least 15g of fat per tablespoon. Is this enough to
make two big meals?
Steve R
sf...@wam.umd.edu
Ted Altar
> Is there a way to make a lowfat stirfry other then sauteing
> in water ( didnt work to well ). It seems most oils have
> at least 15g of fat per tablespoon. Is this enough to
> make two big meals?
Try again Steve. It takes some skill to stir fry using only water
and one must have water at hand to intermittently replace the water
that has rapidly evaporated from one's stir fry pan.
There are some decided advantages to this kind of fat free cooking
(cooking without oils, that is). The cooking temperature is not as
hot as frying with oils and this works to help one ideally
cook the vegetables no more than minimally needed so as to
best preserve the nutrients. Starchy vegetables are maybe
the exception as longer cooking better helps to bring out their
flavours, but not too much longer.
Steve, as a means towards learning how to stir fry using water,
first try using some oil along with the water (1:1 ratio). At
least in this way you can start by using half as much oil
as you previously used. As one learns to cook and enjoy such
low fat stir frying, simply reduce the amount of oil and at
some point simply eliminate it altogether.
Cheers,
Ted
Robbie Felix
> Is there a way to make a lowfat stirfry other then sauteing
> in water ( didnt work to well ). It seems most oils have
> at least 15g of fat per tablespoon. Is this enough to
> make two big meals?
Hi STeve,
I use non-stick cookware, oil the wok and then wipe out all the oil
but enough to barely coat the surface of the non-stick wok. It works
well, but you must use a little more liquid at the end when stirring
in the sauce ingredients as it cooks away the veggies own liquid
pretty fast in such a high heat environment.
rf
>
>Steve R
>sf...@wam.umd.edu
>
Anthony C.
Stir fry is low fat. If you use 1 tablespoon of oil and a wok full
of veggies or whatever then eat with a plate of rice you should have
enough stir fry fro about 4 or 5 meals. Therefore each meal would
have about 3 grams of fat. I usually stirfry starting with oil and
onions and garlic, to make sure that their flavor comes out. Then
I add the rest of the veggies (Im vegetarian). Usually I have to add
a little bit of water, maybe an eighth of a cup at a time to keep
things wet. Stir fry made this way is definitely low fat. I certainly
hope that you eat it with rice rather than as a plate by itself. Think
of the main dish as being the rice, with the stirfry added in for flavor.
Steve Russell
From: acc...@tamsun.tamu.edu (Anthony C.)
Newsgroups: rec.food.veg
Subject: Re: Low Fat Stirfry
Stir fry is low fat. If you use 1 tablespoon of oil and a wok full
of veggies or whatever then eat with a plate of rice you should have
enough stir fry fro about 4 or 5 meals. Therefore each meal would
have about 3 grams of fat.
Im going to try stirfrying with wine, but what you say turned
out to be true. I used a teaspoon of seasme oil ( about 5g fat)
to make some veggies I put over some rice & beans ( about 4g fat )
to make two meals at about 4.5 grams of fat each which is fine by
me.
Do you know how to make homemade stirfry taste more like the
version you get in Chinese Restraunts?
Thanks Again
Steve R
sf...@wam.umd.edu
Gary Lotto
TA4Try again Steve. It takes some skill to stir fry using only water
4and one must have water at hand to intermittently replace the water
4that has rapidly evaporated from one's stir fry pan.
TA4There are some decided advantages to this kind of fat free cooking
4(cooking without oils, that is). The cooking temperature is not as
Taltar: could you please try to explain in as much detail as possible
exactly what to do to stir-fry (or just fry) with water only? Thanks.
Gary
---
~ 1st 1.11 #2111 ~ I'm Gary....@Execnet.Com
Ted Altar
>Taltar: could you please try to explain in as much detail as possible
>exactly what to do to stir-fry (or just fry) with water only? Thanks.
Ok Gary, I try to provide some hints, even though there are far
better cooks here on rec.food.veg than myself.
As I see it, the art of stir frying is learning how to cook
chopped veggies in a minimum amount of time. An efficient
stir fry aims to not only save cooking fuel and minimize the
nutrient loss from over-cooking, but also to produce a dish
of tender crisp veggies that still retain their bright
colours. :-)
To stir fry with water one uses at least twice as much water
as oil. If the recipes calls for 2 Tbs of water, then use
at least 4 Tbs of water. More important is to simply
ensure by constant stirring and inspection that there always
remains some water at the bottom of the frying pan or wok.
Hence, one must keep at hand a cup of water for repeated
replacing the water in the pan which has evaporated as steam
or which has been absorbed by the food.
I usually simplify things by starting with a layer of water
at the bottom of a frying pan about 1/8" - 1/4" thick (you
might use a deeper layer of about 1/4" - 1" of water in a
wok, depending on how flat and wide the bottom might be).
The difficult part is the timing of how long to cook the
vegetables. One doesn't want to over-cook or under-cook
good veggies. When frying in oil, the greasy taste of the
added fats tends to disguise the difference in taste between
slightly over-cooked veggies versus cooked just right.
The less cooking needed to produce a tasty veggy, the
better. The problem is that different veggies require
different amounts of time for cooking. Starchy veggies,
like potatoes, of course take longer than the non-starchy
veggies. Still, it is nice to have potatoes that are
minimally cooked and are still firm but no longer bitter.
Pickarski, in his fine book "Friendly Foods", recommends
cooking starchy veggies slowly and for a longer period so as
to best bring out their flavours.
For reasons of preserving heat sensitive nutrients, like
vitamin C, I prefer to add tomatoes and green veggies like
peas and chard, last and to barely cook them at all.
Leaving them almost raw doesn't hurt and preserves their
unique tastes. I try to cook the chard no longer than
necessary for it to become limp. Carrots I cook just until
their colour just turns more brightly orange, then out they
come.
Hence, the trick is to learn how to differentially time the
cooking of one's vegetables in the frying pan or wok. This
is where the real skill comes in, and I'm still learning.
Ok, let's start with a simply veggy stir fry that you can
eat as is or as a topping on some steamed brown rice.
Having washed and chopped the veggies beforehand, I usually
add the veggies into the stir fry pan in 4 stages. With the
water in the frying pan or wok and the heat up on high, we
start by adding:
FIRST, I start with water-frying the onions, as one can
rarely go wrong in over-cooking onions and I also
prefer to blend the onion flavour in with the other
veggies.
SECOND, as the onions are becoming soft or slightly
transparent then I add the tough or starchy veggies
that require the most cooking. These would be such
things as potatoes, turnips, raw uncooked corn
nibblets, chard stems, cabbage stems, broccoli stems,
daikon, bok choy, kale, tough green beans, etc.
THIRD, as soon as the stage 2 veggies are cooked, or
are almost cooked, then add in those veggies that
require only a very slight cooking like carrots, beets,
snow peas, cabbage leaves, broccoli heads, fiddleheads,
asparagus tips, yellow or tender green beans, etc.
[One may even prefer to wait on the carrots, beets,
cabbage or even the broccoli and add them in last if
they are chopped finely enough and you don't mind
eating them almost raw]. It is at this stage that I
add in seasoning like tamari, or a couple of herbs like
thyme and marjoram, or basil and oregano, or basil and
tarragon, thyme and bay leaf, or dill and tarragon. Be
careful not to add too much of these herbs, as too much
can easily overpower the good and subtle taste of
quality veggies.
FOURTH and final stage I leave for those veggies that
need only to be steamed every so slightly or simply
heated up but still preserved more or less in their raw
state. Such veggies, depending on their freshness and
quality, might include tomatoes, raw green peas, mung
bean sprouts, chopped spinach or chard, and grated
carrot, cabbage or beets.
As one is stir-frying these veggies, or steam cooking them
via a wok, always make sure that there remains at least some
water at the bottom and replace as it rapidly evaporates.
To simplify things a little, you can probably collapse stage
one and two into one stage.
Well, there you have it. As one gets more skilled one might
venture into making glazes where additional water (or
vegetable stock) is added along with a thickener like
arrowroot.
Happy vegetarian epulation,
Ted
Thelma Lubkin
> gary....@execnet.com (Gary Lotto) writes:
Every once in a while I think I've really learned to stir fry
right. Then I eat in a Chinese restaurant that truly knows (most of
them don't)...
> I usually simplify things by starting with a layer of water
> at the bottom of a frying pan about 1/8" - 1/4" thick (you
> might use a deeper layer of about 1/4" - 1" of water in a
> wok, depending on how flat and wide the bottom might be).
If you need > 1/4" your pan surface is too wide. The water
should be boiling (very hot, at least); you don't want to cool the
wok once you have the vegetables in it.
> The less cooking needed to produce a tasty veggy, the
> better. The problem is that different veggies require
> different amounts of time for cooking.
Your best stir frys are single vegetables.
> ...then I add the tough or starchy veggies
> that require the most cooking. These would be such
> broccoli stems,...bok choy...
If you think of broccoli stems and bok choy as tough or
starchy vegetables in need of long cooking, then you haven't
mastered the art: but neither have I. If anyone has, please post.
--thelma
> Ted
Ted Altar
>
> If you think of broccoli stems and bok choy as tough or
> starchy vegetables in need of long cooking, then you haven't
> mastered the art: but neither have I. If anyone has, please post.
Thelma, you should see the parts of the broccoli stems that I
use: so woody and tough that most people would those parts out, yet
I've found that I can even use the toughest of broccoli stems :-)
Extra fiber you know :-)
You're right about bok choy; that was mistake on my part. Must
of been thinking about burdock root or something.
Ted
Ted Altar
gary....@execnet.com (Gary Lotto) writes:
>Taltar: could you please try to explain in as much detail as possible
>exactly what to do to stir-fry (or just fry) with water only? Thanks.
Ok Gary, I'll try to provide some hints, even though there are
far better cooks here on rec.food.veg than myself.
As I see it, the art of stir frying is learning how to cook
chopped veggies in a minimum amount of time. An efficient
stir fry aims to not only save cooking fuel and minimize the
nutrient loss from over-cooking, but also to produce a dish
of tender crisp veggies that still retain their bright
colours. :-)
To stir fry with water one uses at least twice as much water
as oil. If the recipes calls for 2 Tbs of water, then use
at least 4 Tbs of water. More important is to simply
ensure by constant stirring and inspection that there always
remains some water at the bottom of the frying pan or wok.
Hence, one must keep at hand a cup of water for repeated
replacing the water in the pan which has evaporated as steam
or which has been absorbed by the food.
I usually simplify things by starting with a layer of water
at the bottom of a flat frying pan about 1/8" - 1/4" thick. If
are using a wok, then maybe a deeper layer of about 1/4" - 1"
of water is better, depending on how flat and wide the bottom
of the wok might be.
The difficult part is the timing of how long to cook the
vegetables. One doesn't want to over-cook or under-cook
good veggies. When frying in oil, the greasy taste of the
added fats tends to disguise the difference in taste between
slightly over-cooked veggies versus veggies cooked just right.
The less cooking needed to produce a tasty veggy, the
better. The problem is that different veggies require
different amounts of time for cooking. One solution is
to simply stir fry a single veggy. Let us, however, assume
that you want to stir fry at one time a dish of mixed veggies.
Thus, we are faced with the problem that starchy veggies,
like potatoes, will take longer to cook than the non-starchy
veggies. Still, it is nice to have potatoes that are
minimally cooked and are still firm but no longer bitter.
Pickarski, in his fine book "Friendly Foods", recommends
cooking starchy veggies slowly and for a longer period so as
to best bring out their flavours.
For reasons of preserving heat sensitive nutrients, like
vitamin C, I prefer to add tomatoes and green veggies like
peas and chard, last and to barely cook them at all.
Leaving them almost raw doesn't hurt and preserves their
unique tastes. I try to cook the chard no longer than
necessary for it to become limp. Carrots I cook no longer than
necessary for their colour on the surfact to just turns more
brightly orange, then out they out they come with still some
crunch :-)
Hence, the trick is to learn how to differentially time the
cooking of one's vegetables in the frying pan or wok. This
is where the real skill comes in, and I'm still learning.
Ok, let's start with a simply veggy stir fry that you can
eat as is or as a topping on some steamed brown rice.
Having washed and chopped the veggies beforehand, I usually
add the veggies into the stir fry pan in 4 stages. With the
water in the frying pan or wok and the heat up on high, we
start by adding:
FIRST, I start with water-frying the onions, as one can
rarely go wrong in over-cooking onions and I also
prefer to blend the onion flavour in with the other
veggies.
SECOND, as the onions are becoming soft or slightly
transparent then I add the tough or starchy veggies
that require the most cooking. These would be such
things as potatoes, turnips, raw uncooked corn
nibblets, chard stems, cabbage stems, tough broccoli stems,
kale stems, burdock root, tough green beans, etc.
THIRD, as soon as the stage 2 veggies are cooked, or
are almost cooked, then add in those veggies that
require only a very slight cooking like carrots, beets,
snow peas, cabbage leaves, tender broccoli stems, broccoli
heads, cauliflower, bok choy, fiddleheads,
Steven Cherry
I do something like stir-fry with a cast-iron skillet-like thing (well,
it's as deep as a pot, but with a skillet-type handle). Being cast iron,
once it's well-oiled, I have to add _very_ little oil to cook vegetables,
a tablespoon or so of olive oil for enough for three adults portions the
other night.
--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
If you cannot control your peanut butter, you cannot s...@panix.com
expect to control your life --Calvin (& Hobbes) Steven Cherry
Judy Karpen
(and hence the amount of oil required) in stirfrys is to microwave briefly
the longer-cooking vegetables before adding them to the mix . Not enough to
cook them to mush, just enough to precook them so they arent rock hard
while the rest of the veggies are done. I do this alot for all types of
cooking, in dishes incorporating a variety of vegetables with different
cooking times --- it also helps cut down on overall prep time because
you're cooking in parallel rather than in series ;^>......
Judy Karpen "pushing back the frontiers of
science...."
kar...@nrlfs1.nrl.navy.mil Code 7675K, NRL, Washington DC
20375-5352