Stir-Fry Masterclass: Easy Homemade Sauce and The Art of Restraint | Cooking Tips, Recipes & Kitchen Inspiration

Is your homemade stir-fry lacking that special something? Do your vegetables turn out soggy instead of crisp? In this episode, Jody, and Kirstie break down the science and the art of the perfect stir-fry.

Our chefs share an easy four-ingredient sauce that is infinitely better than anything you can buy in a bottle. We also discuss why you should not cook all your vegetables at the same time and a secret technique called velveting.

You will not believe how simple it is to achieve that authentic restaurant flavour at home. It just requires a little bit of knowledge and a little bit of restraint.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• The 4-Ingredient Magic Sauce: Why you should stop buying pre-made stir-fry sauces. The chefs share their "golden ratio" ingredients: Shaoxing cooking wine, Oyster sauce, Soy sauce, and Sesame oil.
• The Art of Velveting: Jody explains the science behind using baking soda (not baking powder!) to change the pH of meat. This prevents tight protein bonds and results in that tender, silky texture you love in restaurant dishes.
• The Dance of the Wok: Why you must cook ingredients separately. We discuss managing heat and why treating your vegetables like they are in a "cold plunge" results in a soggy disaster.
• Wok Hei: Understanding the "breath of the wok" and whether you actually need a carbon steel wok to make a great meal.
• Restraint in the Kitchen: Why choosing just two or three vegetables is better than using everything in your crisper drawer.

Chef Over Your Shoulder is our podcast about the connections we make through cooking. Pairing professional Chefs Jody O'Malley and Kirstie Herbstreitand from the Culinary Studio with me, a burn-to-the-bottom-of-the-pan expert, creates the perfect “recipe” to demystify the kitchen and bring back the joy of cooking…without the pressure.

Links and Resources

Forequarter Butcher Shop

Easy Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry – Better Than Takeout

Mastering the Stir-Fry: Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry (Faster than Take-Out!)

Beyond the Recipe: Why Chefs Jody and Kirstie are Obsessed with Cookbooks

The Wok by J. Kenji López-Alt

Connect with us!

The Culinary Studio Website

The Culinary Studio Instagram

Amy Schlueter Instagram

The Culinary Studio Facebook

The Culinary Studio TikTok