technique

Even though I teach easy, healthy, one-dish wok meals, here’s a simple weeknight dinner idea that will make you a rock star and that’s to grill and stir fry in one dinner!  Grilling a batch of protein is a very efficient way to produce many meals.  While the grill is going, fry up some veggies.  Grilling and stir frying in one dinner is one of my favorite weeknight ways to keep it simple and stress free and don’t we all want some of that?

My preference is grilling rather than roasting.  I like the texture better, meat is crispy outside and tender inside and colors come out so much brighter. Grilling uses same technique as stir frying, high heat seals in the flavors and retains the colors. I find dry spice rubs work best as wet marinades tend to make meat tough and chewy (same with stir frying meat.)

I wish I could bottle the smell of lamb being grilled, because it makes you feel warm and fuzzy and hungry!  Grilling a whole leg of lamb is super practical since I make lunch for my hubby to take to work and for myself.  It’s so easy to stir fry whatever vegetables I find in my fridge. Stir frying isn’t just for an Asian dinner, you can fry veggies for western style grilled meats,  it’s nice to mix and match east and west!  There are no boundaries when it comes to cooking and you’ll be surprised at how well this works, try it!
Disadvantage of grilling:
Grilling (i.e. broiling in the oven) tends to heat up the kitchen unlike wok cooking which doesn’t generate outward heat and is so fast anyway.
Advantages of grilling:
1. you’ve got a load of meat to last many meals and saves you cooking everyday!
2: you can grill all sorts of protein like salmon, pork shoulder (one of my favs), leg of lamb, organic chicken thighs, skirt steak, tofu, whatever you want basically.
3: you can cut the grilled protein in different ways e.g. chunks for lunch, strips if I use in a stir fry with veggies and slices for dinner.
Here are some of my favorite spice rubs to try, from left to right:
BBQ Spice Rub from Stubbs (I found at Fresh Market)
Everything Seasoning Spicy from flavorgod.com (this is really addictive)
– curry powder from Myspicesage.com (very fresh and intensive flavor)
– Jerk seasoning from Ocho Rios (available in most supermarkets incl. Publix, Winn Dixie, I am not an affiliate but should be, right?)
– Moroccan Spice Rub from Earthy.com
Most rubs already have salt in them, so all you need is to:
1) switch broiler on
2) rinse meat under cold water, pat very dry with paper towels
3) sprinkle spice rub to cover meat completely on both sides
4) zing under broiler on top rack close to the heat
5) Use your eyes and nose to judge when it’s done. Here’s a simple rule, first, you’re going to smell the incredible aromas from meat grilling, usually in about 10 minutes. Go check and see!  When the first side gets nice and toasty with crispy edges, flip it over. Second side won’t take as long and also depends how thick the cut is.  When golden and slightly crispy round edges, stick a fork or steel skewer in the thickest part to test if done.  If there’s blood running, it’s still a bit rare so I switch the heat off and let it sit under the broiler. If you cook till there’s no blood, it’s overdone, cause meat continues cooking.
6) stir fry your veggies while meat is grilling. See below for veggie combinations and how to do it!
7) let the meat rest about 5 minutes before carving and digging in.
In a future post, I’ll show how to do it the other way round: Grilling veggies while stir frying meat!
Looking for more ideas…
4th of July, Spicy BBQ Hoisin Spare Ribs
Grilled Hoisin Pork Chop with 3 different veggie sides
Grilled salmon and stir fry bok choy
Grilled Swordfish with stir fry zucchini
Even more ideas…