Stir-fry by the numbers

Ingredients plus technique equals dinner

By Kim Carlson

May 16, 2007

Barbara Fisher, keeper of the long-time blog Tigers and Strawberries, wants to teach you how to make a proper stir-fry. To keep it simple, she’s come up with a clever device she calls “Barbara’s Rules of Three.”

The rules of three are easy: Combine three main ingredients, three aromatics, three condiments, and three supporting ingredients. Of course, that adds up to 12 — but still it sounds doable on a weeknight, especially when you also follow Barbara’s instructions for stir-fry.

To see the kinds of possibilities that might play out in the kitchen using these rules, check out Barbara's daughter's effort to make a simple vegetable stir-fry.

Hey, the wok isn’t a remote control; if Morganna, a teenager, can make something that looks (and reportedly tastes) this good, adults might be able to manage something similar. With a little help from Mom’s blog, of course.