What's a lo-cal way to stir fry?

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  • kikiboniki
    kikiboniki Posts: 398 Member
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    i love the green frying pan from as seen on TV. its by "orgreenics", I think. It allows you to cook without oil. Love it! good luck =) I got it at CVS
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,012 Member
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    I use red palm oil and non-stick cooking spray.

    "red palm" tee hee hee
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,871 Member
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    Water works pretty well, if you have a good pan. Coconut oil or butter is better than the oils you mentioned (especially for high heat cooking) but it's still an oil and has calories. What I do is saute some mushrooms and onions first, they are a little oily and coat the pan pretty good, then I add the rest of my stuff. If it sticks, I splash some water in the pan.

    edit: oops, you said besides water, skip that part in my post :)

    coconut oil has a pretty low smoke point...it is not very good at all for high heat cooking.

    OP...cooking with oils can add a lot of calories..personally I would just plan for that and do my thing. fat = flavor and I couldn't imagine a stir fry with water...that just seems...not very good.
  • zealey77
    zealey77 Posts: 104
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    I use a tablespoon of oil. NOT a jug. :huh:

    I am guessing a "glug" is not a jug either but probably more than a tablespoon lol :indifferent:

    a 'jug' lol that made me laugh. It's a London expression. Doesn't travel I guess ;)

    I love the idea of using bit of chicken broth. Think that's my answer.
    Thanks.
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
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    Chicken or vegetable broth adds a little flavor without adding too many calories.
  • firesweetheart
    firesweetheart Posts: 92 Member
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    I typically use a little bit of Pam (or similar cooking spray) in a non-stick skillet to start. Sometimes, if I start with trying to brown up some veggies first, I'll skip the spray and just use a touch of chicken broth/water (I know you don't want to use water but it works!).
  • murphy612
    murphy612 Posts: 734 Member
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    Water works pretty well, if you have a good pan. Coconut oil or butter is better than the oils you mentioned (especially for high heat cooking) but it's still an oil and has calories. What I do is saute some mushrooms and onions first, they are a little oily and coat the pan pretty good, then I add the rest of my stuff. If it sticks, I splash some water in the pan.

    edit: oops, you said besides water, skip that part in my post :)

    coconut oil has a pretty low smoke point...it is not very good at all for high heat cooking.

    OP...cooking with oils can add a lot of calories..personally I would just plan for that and do my thing. fat = flavor and I couldn't imagine a stir fry with water...that just seems...not very good.

    That's strange, I've read and learned the opposite. Guess I should investigate more, thanks! You can get a lot of flavor without the fat :-)
  • writergeek313
    writergeek313 Posts: 390 Member
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    Nonstick cooking spray doesn't always work well with high heat. I still use it to cook, but not if I'm planning to turn the burner up past halfway. After awhile it can leave this sticky brown residue on the inside of the pan that can be really hard to get off.

    If a recipe calls for a tablespoon of oil and makes four servings, it adds roughly 30 calories to each serving. I don't stress out about that. If I'm concerned that food is sticking after I've used that oil, I deglaze with a very small amount of water (usually a tablespoon or so at a time). It doesn't water down the flavor. In fact, it actually adds some flavor since it's bringing up what has stuck to the pan.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    I still use oil, just a little less than what the recipe calls for. As pointed out above, if you're making enough for several servings, one Tbsp isn't going to add much per serving. While I get the mentality for cutting fat to help with calorie content, try to make some of it fit into your daily goal as it is a necessary nutrient. I also add other liquid like soy sauce and/or sriracha.
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
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    I use red palm oil and non-stick cooking spray.

    "red palm" tee hee hee

    Lol I cannot believe I didn't think of this and laugh at it sooner.
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
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    Water or a bit of non-stick spray.

    Be careful with non-stick sprays - our large Caliphon pan had its non-stick coating destroyed by those. Didn't realize until afterwards it voids the warranty!
  • MarKayDee
    MarKayDee Posts: 196
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    Personally I stirfry dry, meats first then I add my noodles and veg at the same time. Keeps things moist enough to not burn and dry enough to not get stuck with sloppy soggy stirfry.

    Also you could try dabbing a paper towel in your oil and rubbing your pan with it. There's still calories added, obviously, but it only uses about as much as a spritz.
  • lostmetalchicken
    lostmetalchicken Posts: 9
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    The cooking sprays do ruin the pan and I felt uncomfortable using some chemical mix on my food. I found a simple pump style oil sprayer at the kitchen store. My is called a misto. You use your own oil and it sprays a bit into the pan. Then you just use a little bit of oil. It works good to use instead of butting a pan if you are going to bake or to coat things like as asparagus lightly before broiling instead of slopping in the oil.
  • kiittenforever
    kiittenforever Posts: 479 Member
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    I use 1 tsp sesame oil for my stir fry it is 40 calories :)
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,994 Member
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    Hi, I like stir-fries but can't believe how many calories are in just a glug of olive oil / sunflower oil / vegetable oil. Does anyone have an alternative that I can use, apart from water. Thanks.
    Depends. If you want the real wok experience then no there is no substitution. There is a flavor that is transmitted to the food from cooking with a well seasoned wok at the right temperature, which is high, and it's called "wok hei" it's hard to describe, but it makes a difference and I always look for that taste when I cook in a wok.

    If your using a non stick then the heat is never going to be hot enough, or at least you should never heat it up that much and if it's just cooking food in a wok you want then either just use less fat or steam them in a flavorful broth of some kind, like veg or chicken stock and you can add a cornstarch mixture at the end to thicken, if you want a sauce.

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