Article & Tips

Europe's Best Frozen Fruits and Vegetables

Stir-Fry Secrets from Europe’s Best®

Stir-frying is fast and furious so it’s essential to be organized and know the tricks of the trade before you begin. Use these tips and recipes from Europe’s Best for fresh and flavourful stir-fry results every time.

Stir-fries are a simple, delicious way to prepare dinner for your family. You can stir-fry a crunchy side dish for dinner or go all the way and prepare a mealtime main event with some help from Europe’s Best.

Our Top 10 Stir-Fry Tips

Never start to cook before you have all the ingredients assembled, cut into bite-size pieces, and marinated as required.
If your recipe calls for meat, cook the meat first and set aside. Add it back into the wok or pan when the vegetables are almost finished cooking to ensure you don’t overcook the meat.
Use oil that can take the high heat, such as Crisco® Vegetable Oil or Crisco Canola Oil.
Pre-heat the wok on medium-high to high heat for at least one minute before adding the oil.
Europe’s Best frozen vegetables will cook faster than raw ingredients, so adjust your cooking times accordingly.
Arrange your ingredients beside your cooking area in the order in which you’ll be adding them to the wok or pan.
If you aren’t sure what order to add the vegetables, cook them individually and set aside.
When stir-frying meat, let it brown a bit before moving it around the pan.
Adjust the seasonings once all the ingredients have been cooked and tossed together.
Serve your stir-fried dinner or side dish as soon as possible after cooking has been completed.

How To Buy and Season A Wok

There are two basic wok shapes – rounded or flat bottomed. A round-bottomed wok works best on gas stoves with a wok stand. A flat-bottomed wok works well on an electric stovetop.
The best woks are typically made from iron, carbon steel or cast iron. Most cooks avoid non-stick pans because they don’t take the heat necessary in stir-frying very well.
When you purchase a new wok, clean it well, rinse it and then let it dry on a stovetop set on medium heat.
Many cooks stand by the need to season a wok. It will help keep your food from sticking and keep your wok in perfect condition. Simply place your wok over medium heat. When it’s hot, remove it from the burner, rub it with a paper towel dipped in vegetable oil, return the wok to the heat and allow the oil to seep in. Repeat until your wok has a nice dark finish.

Europe’s Best Makes Stir-Frying Quick & Delicious

Europe’s Best frozen vegetables help you go from freezer, to wok to dinner plate in no time at all. They offer you the freshest of veggies without the hours of shopping, washing and chopping.

Explore Europe’s Best Asian Vegetable Blends – stir-fry friendly veggies conveniently sold as a medley of ingredients. Europe’s Best Imperial Blend has edamame kernels, snow peas, bamboo shoots, shitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, carrots and peppers. Europe’s Best Zen Garden brings you snow peas, yellow and orange carrots, water chestnuts, red peppers, baby corn and bean sprouts.

Related Recipes
	Sweet and Spicy Stir Fried Chicken Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 8-10 minutes Serving: 6-8 servings This sophisticated main combines Oriental vegetables, including Edamame kernels, snow peas, bamboo shoots and shitake mushrooms, with tender pieces of chicken. A chilli garlic sauce and hot chilli paste provide the heat while hoisin sauce and brown sugar sweeten the pot. Serve over noodles or rice.
	Thai Shrimp and Mango Fried Rice Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cook Time : 10 minutes Serving: 6-8 servings The secret to Thai cooking is finding the right balance of flavours. In this recipe, sweet Thai chilli sauce complements shrimp, spinach, sugar snap peas, broccoli, peppers, mango and fragrant Jasmine rice. Garnish with chopped cilantro for a delectable dish.
	Szechuan Green Beans Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Serving: 4 servings Here is a quick and flavourful side that goes with just about anything. Stir fry green and yellow beans and combine with minced ginger, sliced green onions and hot pepper flakes. Add soy sauce and hoisin sauce and mix. Drizzle this tasty dish with sesame oil, add salt and pepper and serve.