QUICK ’N’ EASY STIR FRY

STIR FRY IS CULINARILY SATISFYING, being as it is highly participatory: Cut some stuff up, have saucing handy, heat the oil (don’t forget the garlic), and stir until tasty and done. No waiting around for stuff to cook.

Veggies. Recently I practiced this with my local Trader Joe’s Asian Style Vegetable Stir Fry, a handy mix of mushrooms, sweet peppers, onions, broccoli, snow peas, and other morsels.

Tofu. I prefer the Extra Firm variety. It’s more amenable to cubing and frying, especially after wrapping it in some paper towel and letting it press/drain (the weight, my wok).

Other Protein. Here’s where the character of the dish changes with the day’s whim: chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, vegan? This time around, I had chicken breast pieces that called only for defrosting. Indeed, catch them before a complete thaw and they’re easier to slice appropriately (I chose roughly the size of the tofu cubes). 

The Baggie Prep. I put the cubed tofu and chicken in separate baggies: the chicken’s with a light toss of flour, the tofu’s with corn starch. 

The chicken, after bagging/mixing. 

The Saucing. The medium of stir frying (I use peanut oil with a dash of La Yu sesame oil) provides a base for the sauce. The veggies give off flavorful liquid while frying. The rest of the saucing, added late in the process, is up to whim: Hoisin Sauce? Thai Peanut Sauce? Hawaiian Bar-B-Q? Oyster Sauce? Each defines the final character of the stir fry.

The Stir Fry. I use a wok; a large skillet or dutch oven will work fine as well. Heat the oil(s), add a dash of chopped garlic, and begin with the chicken. It’ll require some breaking up to separate pieces. Continue until they have a proper crisping. Set aside on a paper plate to drain.

Then comes the tofu, the same wok and oil, the same deal about breaking up pieces and continuing until they’re crisp. Set aside on another paper plate.

Then come the veggies. Same deal, maybe adding a bit more oil. As they near completion, I add the sauce of choice plus just enough soy sauce to yield the desired consistency.

Finally, toss in the chicken and tofu. Mix to heat and combine flavors and it’s done. 

I serve mine atop rice (my current taste leans to brown rice of the easy minute-microwaved variety).

Yum. I enjoy the variety of this stir fry. This time around, it’s chicken, tofu, and veggies in oyster sauce. Next time it might be shrimp and veggies in Thai peanut. 

All in stir fry participatory fun. ds 

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2025