One of the keys to a successful stir-fry is having all the ingredients prepped before you fire up your wok, and one of the keys to prepping your ingredients is having a sharp knife. Contrary to popular belief, a sharp knife is actually MORE safe than a dull one! Dull knives are prone to slipping, resulting in cuts. A sharp knife cuts through ingredients easily, keeping your fingers scar-free and making prep time a breeze.
This new sharpener from Chef’s Choice does 20 degrees for European knives and 15 degrees for Asian-style knives. It creates an extremely sharp edge using diamond abrasive wheels for a superior burr free edge. And it’s safe for all quality knives.
AND…it can be yours!
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below by 11:59pm EST Wednesday, June 27th answering the following question:
We love the tip Big Red Kitchen came up with for putting your prepped stir-fry ingredients in mason jars or the tip from Mother Would Know for using a post it cheat sheet with a rough breakdown of the steps. Share your ideas for how you make stir-frying easier.
Good luck!
wokwednesdays 
I like to cut my vegetables on a diagonal. It not only looks prettier, but makes them cook quicker and more of the surface area is exposed to the heat and flavors.
Boy do I need this knife sharpener! My best tip is to put the exhaust fan on high, especially in the summer, so the heat from the flame does not heat up the house or set off the smoke detector.
The reason I need this sharpener; imperative to use a sharp knife for all the chopping stir-frying entails. More for safety than ease!
Clean and chop the vegetables ahead. They need to try thoroughly anyway so I wash and chop after I shop. We use the vegetables up fast enough in stir fry’s and salads that they are fresh and ready to Wok and roll.
I love this one- a perfect idea instead of scrambling to “mise en plas” at the last minute
I do all the prep work while the kids are napping and get the rice going in the rice cooker. When they wake up we can go out and play until just a few minutes before dinner and then I can cook the stir fry in just a few minutes.
If I were to start stir frying, I would need a sharpener to keep my knives sharp for all the dicing and cubing and keeping ingredients in proportion.
I set everything that I need on the counter. I chop the veggies and measure out the liquids first and then combine all the ingredients. Be sure to cut the veggies uniformly, or they won’t cook evenly!
I am not ready to give stir-frying tips; I’ve only just started with Stir-frying to the Sky’s Edge! But I do need this knife sharpener, very much! I suppose my tip could be that dull knives are more dangerous than sharp ones. 😉 Thanks!
I would suggest watching Grace Youngs video on seasoning your WOK on Youtube a couple times before trying it, and having Ms Tane Chan’s phone number at the WOKSHOP.COM handy, both ladys are great resources.
I have learned things go smoother for me if I organize my ingredients in the order I will use them. Then my thoughts are on the wok and not the order of the ingredients. When they are ready I get myself in a “cool” mood because things are going to get hot!
I like to use a jellyroll pan to hold my cutting board and arrange the cut vegetables in order they are going in with piles starting on the right edge of the pan then hold it like an artist’ palette and slide the piles to the end then into the hot wok when it is their turn to ‘jump in the pool.’
For vegetables such as broccoli and other “hard” vegetables that need a preliminary blanching before being used in a stir-fry, it is very important that the vegetables are thoroughly dried. I blanch my vegetables well in advance, refresh them briefly in ice water, then drain them in the colander. Finally, to ensure that they get completely dry, I arrange them in a single layer on several paper towels, and place more paper towels on top of them as well, so the vegetables are wrapped in paper towels. When it is time to stir-fry, I unwrap the vegetables and they are dry and ready to cook.
In addition to the set-up of ingredients so wokking flows smoothly, I also set out the serving bowls and set the table. The best thing about stir-frying is the superior quality of the resulting food and it is best served freshly prepared. If cooked food stands around for awhile, veggies get soggy and limp and quality diminishes. This cuisine varies from others,e.g. Italian marinara sauce flavor is better if left to mellow and not served immediately.
I think the appearance of a dish depends on how well the vegetables are cut. You can completely change the visual appeal of a dish when the food is properly cut. I will have to search for this knife sharpener to add to my kitchen tools!
Go see Grace Young when she is teaching one of her classes! It is definitely worth it! Not only do you learn so much but you also get delicious food. She is amazing! Aside from that, lining up your pre measured ingredients in order of use becomes sort of a “cheat sheet” and ensures you don’t forget something until it’s too late.
The most important thing I’ve learned is that you have to have worked out the timing in advance so that things that take about the same time to cook get put in together. (E.g., don’t put mushrooms in at the same time as broccoli.) And that the timing of garlic makes a big difference — put it in at the beginning of cooking, and it’s a rich mellow flavor. Put it in at the end for the strong garlic flavor.
I stir fry outside on a propane-fired turkey-fryer burner. I can get the wok glowing hot, sling and spatter oil everywhere, and not have to clean up the kitchen afterwards.
I use an olive oil bottle with spout to store my oil for stir frying! Easy to pour and much easier to control!
I like to chop my ingredients and arrange them in the sequence in which they’ll be used. By grouping items that can be tossed into the work at the same time, I minimize the need for multiple containers and instead scoop up what I need with the flat side of my chef’s knife. Quick prep lets me savor the dish – and clean up quickly.
Tonight I used my salad spinner to get the veggies super dry before they hit the hot oil. I like Liz’s tip of using a spout for the oil.
I’ll start prep for the veggies after lunch. I can wash and cut all the veggies while my daughter naps. It also gives the veggies time to dry and I’m not rushing about at when it’s time to cook.
I usually chop my veggies and have all the ingredients in the order of usage. Sometimes I store them in Tupperware containers immersed in water in the fridge if I am preparing ahead of time. Then a good drain , spin and away we stir fry.
Use avocado oil, and you can put away the safety goggles and splash proof apron.