Six Steps to a Thanksgiving Stir-Fry

This Thanksgiving, put your wok to work.

Simple stir-frying is a great way to enjoy the flavor of fall vegetables, and it can be a fast and convenient cooking technique for harried holiday chefs, says Grace Young, who recently won a James Beard award for her latest cookbook, “Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, With Authentic Recipes and Stories.”

For the Well Vegetarian Thanksgiving series, Ms. Young has offered three new stir-fry recipes, including a mandarin rice stuffing with chestnuts, stir-fried brussels sprouts and stir-fried balsamic-ginger carrots. But before you get started, consider these six cooking tips to get the most out of your stir-fry.

1. Choose the right wok. Use a 14-inch flat-bottomed carbon steel wok, and avoid nonstick woks. Ms. Young says carbon steel woks conduct heat well, while nonstick woks can release fumes when heating and don’t allow the food to caramelize and brown. “A 14-inch wok is the best size for a general recipe that makes four servings,” she says. “If you use a bigger wok on an American stove, you can’t heat it. A smaller wok is going to crowd your food and braise rather than stir-fry.”

2. Make sure your vegetables are dry before cooking them. “Spin them in a salad spinner, or pat dry with kitchen towels,” says Ms. Young. “If you put in wet vegetables, you take down the heat of your wok and it turns into a braise.”

3. Limit the amount of food you cook at one time. “People put way too much food into the wok,” says Ms. Young. “With the carrots and brussels sprouts I’ve used here, no more than about five or six cups go into the wok. I often see recipes that call for eight cups of vegetables.”

4. Preheat the pan. “The test I use is to preheat it until you can just flick a drop of water and it evaporates in a second or two,” says Ms. Young. Preheating the wok to this point, but not overheating it, will keep food from sticking.

5. Use the right oil. The traditional oil used in Chinese cooking is peanut oil, but grapeseed or canola oil work well too. The worst oil is extra virgin olive oil, which has a low smoking point and is likely to ruin the flavor. “People don’t realize how important the oil is,” says Ms. Young. “It has to be an oil with a high smoking point.”

6. Cut all the ingredients to the same size. “If you have big pieces and thin pieces, by the time the big ones have cooked, the thin ones are charred,” she says.

Ms. Young notes that while traditional Chinese stir-fries are usually eaten the moment they come out of the wok, you can make these dishes earlier in the day, before the Thanksgiving meal. See Ms. Young’s new stir-fry recipes below, and visit the interactive recipe collection to see all the dishes in Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving so far; we will be adding new dishes daily.

Grace Young’s
Mandarin Rice Stuffing With Chestnuts and Shiitake Mushrooms
The brown rice is cooked in vegetable broth to infuse it with more flavor. It needs to be cooked in advance and chilled before stir-frying. Hot rice is too moist to stir-fry and results in gummy rice. You can buy cooked chestnuts in a jar, but I prefer the taste of fresh roasted chestnuts.

1 1/3 cups long-grain brown rice
2 2/3 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce (low-sodium if desired)
1 tablespoon Asian-style sesame oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps cut into scant 1/4-inch slices (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 cup red bell peppers cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 1/2 cups cooked chestnuts, quartered
1/2 cup roasted chopped pecans
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 bunch scallions (about 1 1/2 cups chopped)

To roast chestnuts: Use the tip of a sharp paring knife to cut an X on the flat side of each chestnut. Put the chestnuts in a plastic container and put in the freezer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put the chestnuts on a jelly roll pan or baking dish, cut side up, and roast 20 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and allow chestnuts to cool until warm to the touch. Remove the shell and peel the chestnuts. Roasted chestnuts will keep in the refrigerator in a covered container for 2 to 3 days.

To roast pecans: Place pecans in an empty wok and stir-fry for 2 minutes over medium heat until the nuts are golden. The pecans can be roasted several days ahead.

To prepare the stuffing:

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Add the rice and return to a full boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, about 40 minutes. Turn off the heat and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff the rice, cover, and allow it to completely cool before refrigerating. Makes about 4 cups.

2. Combine the soy sauce and sesame oil in a cup. Combine the salt and pepper in a small dish.

3. Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in 2 tablespoons of the peanut oil by adding it to the sides of the pan and swirling the pan, then add the ginger and garlic using a metal spatula to stir-fry no more than 10 seconds, until the ginger and garlic are fragrant. Add the mushrooms and bell peppers and stir-fry for 30 seconds, until all the oil is absorbed. Swirl in the remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil, add the rice, and stir-fry for 1 minute, breaking up the rice with the spatula. Swirl in the soy sauce mixture, sprinkle with the salt mixture, and stir-fry for 1 minute, until well combined. Add the chestnuts, pecans and cilantro, and stir-fry for 1 minute, until heated through. Stir in the scallions.

Advance preparation: The pecans and chestnuts can be made ahead, as can the brown rice, which will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator. The dish is best when made just before serving, but you could make it earlier in the day and refrigerate it. Then stir-fry in the wok with about a tablespoon of oil for just a few minutes until heated before serving.

Yield: 8 servings.

Grace Young’s
Stir-Fried Brussels Sprouts With Shallots and Sherry
If the brussels sprouts are wet when added to the wok, the moisture will turn the stir-fry into a braise. To prevent this, use a salad spinner to dry the vegetables. You can also pat dry the sprouts with a kitchen towel. To roast the pine nuts, put them in an empty wok and stir-fry for 2 minutes over medium heat until pine nuts are light golden.

1 pound brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce (low-sodium if desired)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
1/3 cup thinly sliced shallot
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup roasted pine nuts

1. Trim the ends off the brussels sprouts and remove and discard any discolored outer leaves. Shave a scant 1/4-inch-thick slice off one side of each sprout and put cut side down. Cut scant 1/4-inch-thick slices to make about 6 cups. Transfer the brussels sprouts to the colander of a salad spinner and rinse under cold water. Put the colander into the salad spinner and spin to remove excess water. Combine the sherry and soy sauce in a cup. Combine the salt and pepper in a small dish.

2. Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or a 12-inch skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in the oil by adding it to the sides of the pan and swirling the pan, then add the shallots and garlic and stir-fry no more than 10 seconds, until the aromatics are fragrant. Add the brussels sprouts, sprinkle with the salt mixture and stir-fry for 1 minute, just until the brussels sprouts are bright green. Swirl the sherry mixture into the wok, cover and cook 1 minute, until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Uncover and stir-fry for 2 minutes, until the Brussels sprouts are crisp-tender and the liquid has just evaporated. Sprinkle with the pine nuts.

Advance preparation: The brussels sprouts can be sliced, washed and dried a day in advance. Store them in a plastic container in the refrigerator. The pine nuts can be roasted several days ahead. You can also make this dish earlier in the day, but do not add the pine nuts. Reheat in a medium oven and sprinkle with pine nuts before serving.

Yield: 6 servings.

Grace Young’s
Stir-Fried Balsamic Ginger Carrots
The carrots need to be cut as uniformly as possible so that all the vegetables cook in the same amount of time. If the carrots are skinny (about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter), simply cut them into 2-inch pieces; if they’re medium (about 1 inch in diameter), cut lengthwise in half before cutting into 2-inch pieces; if they’re large (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter), quarter lengthwise before cutting into 2-inch pieces. Blanching the carrots reduces the amount of oil necessary to stir-fry. Mince the ginger by hand; if you use a grater or microplane, the ginger will be too wet and will spatter in the oil.

1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds carrots, cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces (about 5 cups)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 teaspoons soy sauce (low-sodium if desired)
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

1. In a 3-quart saucepan, bring 1 1/2 quarts water to a boil over high heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the carrots and return to a full boil, about 5 minutes. Boil for 2 additional minutes. Drain the carrots in a colander, shaking well to remove excess water. Combine the vinegar, sherry and soy sauce in a cup. Combine the sugar, pepper and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt in a small dish.

2. Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or a 12-inch skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in the oil by adding it to the sides of the pan and swirling the pan, then add the ginger and stir-fry no more than 10 seconds, until the ginger is fragrant. Add the carrots and stir-fry for 1 minute, until the carrots are well coated in oil and ginger. Swirl the vinegar mixture into the wok, sprinkle with the sugar mixture, and stir-fry for 1 minute, until the carrots are crisp-tender. Immediately transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chives.

Advance preparation: You can make this dish earlier in the day and reheat in a medium oven.

Yield: 8 servings.