Make-It-Your-Own Stir-Fry

Ingredients

SAUCE

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon black vinegar, rice vinegar, Iime juice, or other acid

1 tablespoon neutral oil, or enough to lightly coat the bottom of your wok or skillet

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced or minced, or more as desired

1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, minced or grated (optional)

Pinch chili flakes or 1 small chile pepper, diced (optional)

4 cups leafy greens, torn into bite-size pieces, or 1 pound crisp-crunchy vegetables, cut into chunks (for very hard vegetables, slice them thin or blanch first)

Kosher salt

A sprinkle of crunch is a great way to finish a stir-fry. Our favorites include crushed cashews or peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, thinly sliced scallions, and fried onions or shallots.

Directions

Stir the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set by the stove.

Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat until just smoking, then add the neutral oil and tilt to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic, ginger (if using), and chili flakes (ifusing) and stir-fry for 10 seconds. Add the greens and/or vegetables, in stages as necessary, and toss in the garlicky oil, then add the sauce and cook to your liking, stirring frequently. Vegetable chunks may need 4 to 7 minutes--if you want to speed up the process, cover the pot so the vegetables steam for a minute or two, then uncover and toss again. Sturdy greens may need 3 to 5 minutes to get tender (we like to let them sit for a bit and char for extra texture). Lighter leaves will need less than a minute to wilt down. Stir in a spoonful of any additional sauce you like, season with salt to taste, then sprinkle with your favorite garnishes and a generous drizzle of sesame oil.

Notes

When you haven't thought about dinner until it's time for dinner stir-fries come to a swift rescue. The super fast, high-heat Chinese technique welcomes any quick-cooking vegetable and can be customized with the sauces you have at hand. A stir-fry can be just leafy greens like mild lettuce or hearty kale; it's a great way to use up lots of wilted leaves, as a daunting pile of fresh greens will rapidly shrink to a manageable size in the pan. Or you can go for vegetables with a bit more bite-thin pieces of broccolini, asparagus, or carrots all do nicely tossed in a hot pan for a few minutes.

When making the sauce, your flavor options are nearly endless. Other ingredients that would make good additions include oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, black bean sauce, teriyaki sauce, and a multitude of other items. You just want a balance of saltiness, sweetness, and acidity, so taste your sauce and adjust as needed, keeping in mind that a tablespoon or two of water can help smooth things out. When stir-frying something extremely light like lettuce leaves, you can omit the sauce in favor of just garlic, ginger, and a light drizzle of toasted sesame oil.

MAKE IT A MEAL

Double the sauce amount and cook 8 ounces chopped boneless chicken thighs, ground pork, or tofu cubes in the garlicky oil, lowering the heat if needed. Sprinkle with salt, then transfer to a plate and let sit while you cook the vegetables in a bit more oil and halfthe sauce. Once those are cooked, return the protein to the pan, add more sauce to taste, and stir-fry until everything is coated and warmed through. Season and serve over rice or noodles.