Stir fry in a snap
Big Green Eggs and kettle grills are a summer cook’s best friends, but a well made stir-fry pan is also a superb tool for bringing out the natural flavor of the season’s bounty. Fresh produce, Gulf shrimp, humanely raised chicken and other ingredients shine when tossed briefly in good-quality oil over high heat. Vegetables remain crisp-tender and proteins cook perfectly, accentuated by the accompanying onions, garlic and fresh ginger. All it takes to produce a standout summer stir-fry meal is the right tools and ingredients—like the ones you find here.
$25-$60
Vinh Phat Asian Groceries and Gifts
vinhpatmarket.com
There’s no tool more important for serious stir-frying than the pan itself, and Asian supermarket Vinh Phat on Florida Boulevard has a wide selection, including woks with one or two handles and non-stick surfaces, and woks that fit electric burners. Serious cooks gravitate toward large woks made of carbon steel and designed for gas flames. They’re durable and hold heat, but like cast iron, they require regular tending. “Water can make a pan like this rust, so it needs to be dry and it needs to be oiled with every use,” says Vinh Phat owner Michael Thai. A long-handled wooden spoon is the best tool for stirring ingredients because it won’t scratch the pan’s surface.
Around $15
Red Stick Spice Co.
redstickspice.com
With the highest smoke point of any oil, avocado oil is perfect for cooking at the screaming hot temperatures required in real stir-frying. Red Stick Spice Co. owner Anne Milneck, a trained chef, recently began ordering unflavored avocado oil to give her customers a clean, neutral flavor when using the oil for frying or broiling. Red Stick Spice Co. features a number of private label extra virgin olive oils, natural avocado oil and flavored oils and vinegars. Most are produced by small-batch domestic growers in California. Certain bottles from the shop can be returned for a discounted refill.
Prices vary
Red Stick Farmers Market
redstickfarmersmarket.org
Louisiana shrimpers Lance and Melissa Nacio of Anna Marie Shrimp bring Gulf shrimp, and sometimes squid and other surprise catches, to the Red Stick Farmers Market—perfect raw materials for a seafood stir-fry. Add fresh bell peppers, hot peppers, onions, garlic, eggplant, green beans and other summer finds from the many farmers who bring produce to the market on both Thursdays and Saturdays.
