My first recipe experiments were in a shared dorm hall kitchen during my freshman year of college. Unfortunately, those meals were mostly forgettable.
What I do remember is that my neighbor, homesick for her native Korea, thought I made the perfect taste-tester. She would cook dishes that were unfamiliar and exotic to my rural Utah taste buds. And, I would gladly eat whatever she made.
The chilies and fermented vegetables, garlic and just-cooked meats were amazing. And, I began to notice that while the flavors and ingredients were sometimes different, the process she used was pretty much the same.
Simplifying Cooking with Systems
I’m a sucker for systems and frameworks that give me an understanding of how to do something, but offer the flexibility to mix and match, alter and adjust. I’m kind of nerdy that way.
The same goes for recipe formulas – my dorm-mate’s cooking was my introduction to this… Understanding the basics of a dish lets me stay true to form, but get creative with ingredients.
Stir-fry just happens to be one of those dishes that lends itself to this sort of structured creativity.
First, a Note on gluten-free and Paleo Stir-fry Sauces
Sauce is essential to stir-fry. And the options are endless. Here are a handful of liquids you can use in stir-fry that you may or may not be familiar with.
GF Tamari Soy Sauce – Soy sauce is often made with wheat. San-J brand is certified gluten-free. If you avoid soy, but still want the tangy, salty taste, try the next item on the list instead.
Liquid Coconut Aminos – Coconut aminos are made from the aged sap of coconut blossoms mixed with salt. Coconut aminos are high in protein, low-glycemic, and full of amino acids. They can be used as a tasty, direct substitute for soy sauce. Coconut Secret brand can be found at Whole Foods stores.
Fish Sauce – Fish sauce is made from…wait now…fish (typically anchovies) and salt. Some brands use water (among other things), as well. It is typically aged for a year or more. And, it is savory and salty and fantastic with fresh lime juice and chilies (which help cut the fishy flavor). I recently found Red Boat brand at a local Asian market – it’s a gluten-free, artisan-quality fish sauce with great flavor.
The Super Simple Formula for Grain-free Stir-fry
The formula I use is fairly routine – a good quality in a formula, I think.
The combinations I make are wholly dependent on what I happen to have in the fridge or are inspired by a trip to the local market. In the photos above, for example, shiitake mushrooms, ginger, and garlic scapes were my inspiration – they were lovely with ground pork. In the title image for this post, you’ll see bison stew meat stir-fried with spinach, baby bella mushrooms, and sesame seeds with a bit of avocado on top.
Need more inspiration? Think of favorite Asian cuisines and dishes you like. A Japanese steak-house dinner might include steak, broccoli, carrots and ginger with orange juice, while a Thai dinner might have shrimp or chicken with bell peppers, tomatoes, fish sauce, fresh cilantro, chilies, and lime. Stir-fry these ingredients up for a yummy dinner.
Anything goes. Just follow the formula.
Note on amounts: The amounts in this formula are for one person. Simply multiply by the number of people you are cooking for. Feel free to use other ingredients; the ones I’ve included are fairly common.
| Steps and Amounts | Ingredients Options |
| Choose your protein. You’ll need 3 to 4 ounces of raw meat, seafood, or poultry per person. |
Protein – omit if you want vegetables only
|
| Marinade protein in a bit of liquid while you chop your vegetables and get your pan ready (the liquid will help prevent the meat from burning or overcooking). |
Liquids 1 – choose one or a combination, enough to cover your chosen protein
|
| Preheat a frying pan to medium high heat. Add 1 Tablespoon of high-heat cooking fat (ghee, coconut oil).Add 1/4 cup chopped onion/shallots, 1 minced clove garlic, and 1/2” minced ginger/galangal per serving. Stir frequently for one minute.Add protein and cook until just done – cook time will depend on protein. Pour meat and juices into a bowl and set aside. |
FRESH Aromatics – chop / mince
|
| Add 1 more tablespoon of oil to still-hot pan.Add 1/2 cup of vegetables (per person) from this group to the pan.Cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously. |
Vegetable A – longer-cooking vegMake sure they are cut into uniform sizes.
|
| Add 1 cup of vegetables (per person) from this group to the pan.Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously. |
Vegetable B – shorter-cooking vegMake sure they are cut into uniform sizes.
|
| Return meat and juices to pan and stir in with vegetables.Add 3 Tablespoons of liquid per person to the pan. |
Liquids 2 – choose 1 or a combination
|
| Serve your stir-fry in a bowl and sprinkle with your choice of toppings. |
Optional Toppings
|
© Maoomba, Visit maoomba.com for more recipes.
About Stormy Sweitzer - Maoomba-in-chief
Oh Wow²! Your Paleo Power Lunch package is the best prize I’ve ever won on the internet! Happy dance!!!
And I adore Korean food. Love your Asian market photo. I bought a kabocha last month and planted some of the seeds. So just maybe if I’m lucky I’ll be harvesting kabocha come fall. I planted garlic this spring too–for the scapes, one of my all-time favorite veggies from when I lived in China. So yummy! Haven’t seen them even in large Asian markets here though. I’ll have to look harder. Now you have me thoroughly hungry and it’s hours away from lunch! (which is going to be fabulous: stir-fried ground beef with black kale and caramelized onion in lettuce wraps!)
Hi Laura – Thank you! I’m so excited that you won and am doing the happy dance over here, too! I hope your kabocha grows; I planted some, as well, because I eat one every other week and it would be nice to have backyard access! The scapes are elusive – I only see them at the markets for about a week each year. Good luck finding some!
It sounds like you’ve had some amazing travels. I’ll be visiting China for the first time this year and am getting so excited to go, and to eat there! Any suggestions?
Happy eating, Laura!
–Stormy
Hmm…Chinese food in China is nothing like Chinese food in America, so you’ll have fun discovering new dishes. Eating out was always an adventure. We weren’t always 100% certain what we were ordering. There are not so many of those thickened sauces like you find in Chinese food here. Garlic and ginger, soy sauce of course. Restaurants tend to use a lot of oil. Often I would tell them not to put so much oil in.
I was living in the north and the shocker was that wheat noodles were the staple where I was (Tai’an in Shandong province). They stretch them by hand. There was also a delicious kind of flat bread. I did a lot of my own cooking, learned to make real Chinese food too! Loved the vegetable market. I was far enough south that in winter we were lucky enough to have a wide variety of veggies. Even further north it was mainly cabbage in winter, which people piled up in mountains outside! Like a giant stack of firewood, except it was cabbage.
If you visit near a coast, there’s lots of fresh seafood. Then there’s the fruit: Yantai for Fuji-like apples and Yangshan for peaches. You have never really tasted a peach until you eat a Chinese honey peach. There is nothing like it anywhere. Now I’ve gotten myself hungry. I just might dream of peaches tonight.
Help…I can’t find a print button.
Thanks, Carol
Hi Carol, I added a print button for you – I hope it works : )