Stir-fry Veggies

Stir fyring veggies is really just - stir frying. I am assuming you are an amateur cook. Here is some ideas/tips to stir-fry your veggies:

Preparation

You can either cut up your veggies into smaller pieces or in "sticks" form like I did above. It depends on what veggie it is. Carrots, zucchini, cucumber, potatoes, are more versatile and can be cut into sticks, cubes or just small pieces.

How to cook

This is a standard way (so I think so... this is how my mum taught me) - heat up your wok or fry pan. Add some cooking oil. When it is hot enough, add some chopped/minced garlic. You know the oil is hot enough if you add the garlic and it sizzles a lot immediately. Stir fry the garlic until it turns slightly brown and aromatic. Add in the 'harder' veggies first (e.g. carrots, broccoli, cauliflower). Add a bit of stock (whatever you can find, or water will do) and cover the pan. This gives it a steaming effect. When they are slightly softened, add the 'softer' veggies or things like mushrooms, prawns, as they need not be cooked for a long time.

For seasoning, add about 1 tsp of salt (or more if you like) and 1 tsp of sugar (salt and sugar gives an "MSG effect" but not in the artificial way). You may also add some chinese cooking wine if you like. Cook until the veggies are soft. Do a taste test to check that it is tasty. If you are cooking green leafy veggies, do not overcook them. Otherwise you will lose the vitamins and texture. If your green leafy veggies has a thick steam, you may separate the stem and leaves. Throw in the stems to cook for a while then add the leaves later.

For a very simple version, just add oyster sauce and you are good to go.

Of course if stir fry is too difficult, there is still the microwave method :)