Stir frying

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.

Some scholars think that wok frying may have been used as early as the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) for drying grain, not for cooking, but it was not until the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) that the wok reached its modern shape and allowed quick cooking in hot oil. However, there is research indicating that metal woks and stir-frying of dishes were already popular in the Song dynasty (960–1279), and stir-frying as a cooking technique is mentioned in the 6th-century AD Qimin Yaoshu. 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.

The English-language term "stir-fry" was coined by Yuen Ren Chao in Buwei Yang Chao's book How to Cook and Eat in Chinese (1945), to describe the chǎo technique. Although using "stir-fry" as a noun is commonplace in English, in Chinese, the word 炒 (chǎo) is used as a verb or adjective only.