Stir-frying

• Have all of your ingredients prepped prior to cooking, as you do not have time to chop while cooking. Heat up your wok for one to two minutes before adding any ingredients into the wok, even the oil. Stir-fry is an extremely fast way of cooking, and you need extreme heat.
  
  After your pan is hot, add vegetable or canola oil. You need an oil with no flavor that can reach a very high temperature without burning. Start with aromatic seasonings like garlic, ginger and crushed chili flake. Move them around quickly with a spatula or chopsticks. These will flavor the oil, which will penetrate your whole dish. Add thinly sliced chicken or beef or peeled and deveined shrimp. Add vegetables after the meat. Any mix of vegetables you like will work. Popular choices are broccoli, red or green peppers and scallions. You can also find frozen stir-fry vegetable blends at any grocery store. Finish with store bought stir-fry sauce or keep it simple and just use soy sauce. Stir-fry also can be a great vegetarian dish, so skip the meat and just add vegetables if you prefer.
  
  Do not overcrowd the pan. If you are making a large amount of food, cook in batches. If you overcrowd the pan, it lowers the heat and you do not get the same results.
  
  

Steaming

• Steaming is one of the healthiest methods of cooking. You will need a steamer insert for your wok. The steamers are commonly made of bamboo and sold where you would find woks in a retail store.
  
  To steam, put about an inch of water into your wok. Place the steamer insert into the wok. Make sure that the water does not touch the steamer, as you need space to create the steam. Line your steamer baskets with leafy greens like cabbage or kale to prevent sticking. If these are not available you can use a damp kitchen towel. Place your food into the steamer baskets and replace the lid of the steamer basket and the lid of your wok. Check the water level every few minutes to make sure you have enough water to create the steam.
  
  

Common Ingredients

• A few ingredients are used commonly in Asian cooking. Stock your pantry with basics like sesame oil, fish sauce, Thai red chili sauce, rice vinegar, water chestnuts and soy sauce.