Veggie noodle stir-fry | Vegetable recipes | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

How do you make stir-fry noodles not stick together? ›

Drain the noodles and shake the strainer a few times to get the noodles as dry as possible. Toss the noodles with a little vegetable or peanut oil: Return the noodles to the pan you used to cook them and toss them with a little oil. This prevents them from sticking and forming a big mass in the wok.

Stir fry cooks fast and hot so make sure you are using your heaviest frying pan or wok and are stirring continuously. Don't overload your wok as the ingredients will become soggy. You can cook things in batches if necessary, for example, you can cook the protein first and set it aside to add back in later.

So many different oils, the good news is you can stick with what you know – canola is great! The best oils for stir frys are the oils with the higher smoke points. These tend to be the “thinner” oils such as peanut, grapeseed or canola.

Kelp noodles are best for a stir fry, or dishes that call for thin noodles, Vu says. If you're looking to keep calories as low as you can, use them in place of rice or ramen noodles.

Cooking rice noodles is not actually hard, but most people misunderstand how they need to be treated. The #1 reason why your rice noodle stir fries are a soggy mess is that you're cooking them before cooking them.

Contrary to popular myth, adding oil into the water does not stop pasta sticking together. It will only make the pasta slippery which means your delicious sauce will not stick. Instead, add salt to the pasta water when it comes to the boil and before you add the pasta.

Try Adding Oil Or Butter

Oil can also help keep cooked pasta you are storing for later from sticking.

The first is to cook your protein and your vegetable separately, and combine them only after both are fully cooked. A second rule of thumb for stir-frying: Choose one vegetable per stir-fry. Finally, always remember to add liquid only after everything is more or less finished cooking.

"Tomatoes should never go in a stir fry — not at all." Chef Natasha Ford adds that they're too mushy. "They would just make your stir fry soupy," she says. "If you really want to use them, keep them as fresh and uncooked as possible.

The process of stir-frying fully cooks the noodles along with the remaining ingredients. In contrast, lo mein noodles are completely cooked before getting mixed in with the meat, vegetables and sauce. Instead of getting stir-fried, the lo mein ingredients are lightly mixed and tossed.

Which noodles are best for frying? ›

Ideally, you'd use thin, fresh chow mein, or fresh pan fried noodles. They're thinner than lo mein and contain less egg compared to wonton mein, resulting in a crispy, chewy texture when pan fried. With fresh noodles, you want to steam them before frying them.

For a low-carb version: You can use butternut squash or zucchini noodles. However, I like the combination of vegetables, carbs, and optional protein for a more satisfying dish. For an even quicker dish: You can use pre-cooked noodles and even pre-cooked veggies or a freezer-pack of 'stir-fry veg'.

Woks are large and have sloping sides that let you cook the entire stir-fry in one pan, so you can easily stir and flip the food without fear of it flying out. They also are designed to cook foods quicker than skillets and with less oil. If you can't use a wok (or another carbon steel pan) then any skillet will work.