So you want some stir fried vegetables but you don’t know what ingredients to start with? Maybe you got the veggies in mind, but end up with some dried out husks or a mushy paste? Read on brave souls, I’ll share the secrets of stir fry that I’ve learned this Christmas.

The first essential step is to pick what you’re working with. Generally, you’ll want a good bit of onions, some bell peppers (green and red if possible), some long green onions (aka scallion), some cracked black pepper, some garlic, and sesame oil.

That part is pretty much essential, but you can branch out further with squash, zucchini, peas, carrots, spinach, or anything you care for, really.

The trick is to keep the veggies most with the sesame oil and to cook them quickly at a high heat.

The other trick is the chronological order ingredients are added to the skillet. Vegetables should be added from those with the highest wetness, thickness, and density to those with the least.

This means you’ll probably start off with peas and carrots or peppers and onions in the pan, and you’ll add the scallion in last. When all the ingredients are equally mixed with the sesame seed oil, some cracked black pepper will really activate the flavors and give your stir fry a kick.

With just the various onions and peppers, this stir fry mix will complement any type of meats and rice. In future posts, I’ll try to add some popular variations of the stir fry basics, so stay tuned!