By Julie Steele

Ingredients:

1.Some type of noodles. Preferably lo mein, or udon. You can also use pad thai noodles.

a.Don’t do what I did. Spaghetti noodles are NOT a good replacement.

2.Some kind of protein. Chicken, tofu, pork, eggs, beef [don’t use ground beef unless your goal is failure] are all good options.

3.Oil with a high smoke point. Peanut, vegetable, soybean, canola, etc.

4.Lots of veggies. Mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, brussel sprouts, green beans, baby corn cobs, onions, garlic –honestly the beauty of stir fry is that you can pretty much include or exclude whatever you want.

a.If you’re gonna use peppers, start frying them FIRST even before your meat because they’re gonna take three times longer than you’d reasonably expect, it’s honestly ridiculous.

5.Some kind of sauce. Soy sauce is a good starter. So is teriyaki. Go wild.

6.Lots of salt if you’re okay with being as unhealthy as I am.

Start boiling a pot of water for your noodles. While you’re waiting, wash and chop your chosen vegetables and meat. Size is up to you, but keep in mind that smaller pieces will cook faster.

Ideally, you’ll want a wok. I do not own one, so I just use my biggest frying pan and suffer. While your water is heating up, sprinkle in a small amount of oil to your wok and start adding the ingredients that will take the longest to cook. (Peppers and meat, usually.)

As you go, continue adding vegetables. Keep your wok at a lower temperature until you add your noodles to the boiling water, then raise the temperature of your stir fry to medium.

Add your preferred amount of salt to the stir fry as you go. You can also add other spices such as black pepper, garlic, or whatever you have that you feel good about. I typically stick to salt and pepper.

When the noodles are done, drain the water and then add them to the wok and stir them in with the vegetables, lowering the temperature back down to low.

Add your sauce. It’s up to you how much you add. Keep in mind that you may not be able to taste much if you aren’t liberal with it. Keep stirring it around until it’s all mixed together well. This is where your life becomes much harder if you choose a frying pan.

Serve and enjoy!