Ingredients used for Stir-fried Dishes (볶음)

You need to use smaller or thinner pieces of protein when stir-frying. 

Proteins like pork, chicken, and beef should be sliced thinly, diced, or cut into strips so that they can be fully cooked in a shorter time at a higher heat.

Tofu can be cut into any shape when stir-frying since there is no cooking temperature that it must reach. It just needs to be made golden brown.

Seafood can be sliced or kept whole if it’s small, like small octopus or shrimp. Seafood is a delicate protein, and so it cooks quickly and can easily be overcooked and made rubbery if not careful.

Best Chicken Cuts for stir-frying

Chicken needs to reach 165F to be safe to eat. Before using chicken in your stir-fired dish, you can blanch it until it is 75% cooked to remove any smell or oil from the chicken before finishing with the other ingredients in the wok and serving.

• Chicken feet (닭발) have cartilage and collagen and have a chewy texture. It needs some special prep before being made. It should be blanched in a mix of water, vinegar, and sugar before being stir-fried.
• Chicken breast (가슴살) is tougher than other cuts. It is low in fat and has a clean flavor. 
• Chicken tenderloin (안심) has no fat and is very soft and tender.

Best Beef Cuts for stir-frying

Some cuts of beef need to be sliced thinly before being used to stir fry. Beef bulgogi should be cut into 1/8in. thick pieces. Sometimes when beef is cut into very thin strips, they can clump together when added to the wok. So, it is important to mix your thinly sliced beef right after adding it to the wok. 

• Beef Chuck Eye & rib eye (등심) is flavorful and meaty. it has a lot of marbling and is soft and tender. 
• Beef Chuck (목심) is tough and should be sliced thinly when used. 
• Beef Brisket (앞다리) is low in fat, tough and muscular. Slice it thinly before using.
• Sirloin (채끝) has little fat and is decently tender.
• Tenderloin (안심) is less fatty and is juicy and tender. 
• Eye of round (설도) is tough and low in fat. You need to slice it thinly before using it.
• Rump (우둔) is low fat and very meaty and soft. Slice thinly before using.

Best Pork Cuts for stir-frying

You can use any of the following pork cuts for your stir-fried dish. 

• Pork loin (등심) has a light, clean, soft flavor and is low in fat.
• Pork Boston shoulder (목심) has some fat and is soft and flavorful.
• Pork jowl (항정살) is very soft and contains a lot of fat marbling which gives a savory flavor.
• Pork picnic shoulder (앞다리살) is chewy and contains little fat. This cut should be sliced thinly before using.
• Tenderloin (안심) has little fat and a soft texture.

Best Types of Tofu for stir-frying

Often medium firm and firm/extra firm tofu are used in stir-fried dishes. 

Before using your tofu, you need to drain and press the water out of the tofu. You can use a tofu press or just gently press it between two paper towels to squeeze out the water.

If you want to use tofu but you prefer a “meaty” texture, then a hack is to freeze and defrost your tofu. The tofu will have a spongey texture once defrosted, absorb the sauce more easily, and will naturally have a yellow color. 

Best Types of Seafood for stir-frying

Some seafood that is good for stir-frying is baby octopus, octopus, squid, and shrimp.

When stir-frying seafood, you must be careful not to overcook the seafood. Seafood can easily become overcooked, resulting in a dry and rubbery texture. 

Blanching or very shortly stir-frying the seafood and then reserving on the side can ensure a good texture and less water loss. Blanching can also remove any aroma/smell from the seafood.

Before using your seafood, make sure you clean them properly.