I keep seeing people use way too much oil for stir fry on a budget

I watched my neighbor dump half a bottle of sesame oil into a pan the other day and it made me cringe. A single tablespoon spreads just fine if you heat the pan first and use a little water splash. Anyone else notice this waste in budget cooking groups?

2 comments

2 Comments

rosek7313d ago

My uncle used to run a small Chinese takeout place and he always said if you need more than two tablespoons of oil for a wok full of veggies you're basically deep frying them, not stir frying. He'd heat the wok until it smoked a little, then swirl the oil around so it coated the surface before adding anything. The water splash trick works great for steaming tougher veggies but I've found it can make the pan cool down too fast if you're not careful. Maybe it's just me but I feel like a lot of budget cooking advice ignores that a good nonstick pan or a well seasoned wok can cut oil use in half.

the_sarah13d ago

Honestly yeah, your uncle knew what he was talking about. I used to drown everything in oil until I got a cheap carbon steel wok and really learned how to season it proper. Now I can do a full stir fry with maybe a tablespoon and a half and it comes out way better, not greasy at all. That water splash trick is solid but I only use it for things like broccoli or carrots now, anything softer and it just kills the heat too much like you said.