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Stir frying
Cooking technique / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stir frying (Chinese: 炒; pinyin: chǎo; Wade–Giles: ch'ao3; Cantonese Yale: cháau) is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and the West. It is similar to sautéing in Western cooking technique.
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Wok frying may have been used as early as the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) for drying grain, not for cooking. It was not until the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) that the wok reached its modern shape and allowed quick cooking in hot oil.[1] However, there is research indicating that metal woks and stir-frying of dishes were already popular in the Song dynasty (960–1279),[2][3] and stir-frying as a cooking technique is mentioned in the 6th-century AD Qimin Yaoshu.[4] Stir frying has been recommended as a healthy and appealing method of preparing vegetables, meats, and fish, provided calories are kept at a reasonable level.[5]
The English-language term "stir-fry" was coined and introduced in Buwei Yang Chao, How to Cook and Eat in Chinese (1945) to translate the Chinese term chǎo 炒.[6] Although using "stir-fry" as a noun is commonplace in English, in Chinese, chǎo is used as a verb or adjective only.[7] [8]