Recipe Roundup

29 Stir-Fry Recipes for Flavor in a Flash

These stir-fries will all make your “keepers” list.
Tofu and tomatoes with spinach and basil on a serving platter.
Photo by Uyen Luu

If there’s one technique that’ll seriously improve your weeknight dinner situation, it’s dialing in your stir-fry moves. Working your way through these stir-fry recipes will give you ample practice—and guarantee a series of delicious meals in the process. Below you’ll find speedy options with chicken, shrimp, and tofu and great ways to cook eggplant, green beans, and noodles galore. If you really want to lean in, you might want to consider adding an induction wok to your kitchen arsenal as cookbook author Jon Kung recommends. In the meantime, scroll down for our best stir-fry recipes.

  • A serving bowl of kung pao chicken with bowls of rice.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    1/29

    Kung Pao Chicken

    For most stir-fry recipes, it’s a good idea to prep all of your ingredients before turning on the stove. Here, you’ll marinate cubes of boneless, skinless, chicken breast or thigh while you whip a quick sauce with black vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin, sesame oil, sugar, cornstarch, and tingly ground Sichuan peppercorns. Once your wok is on the heat, it all wraps up in just a few minutes.

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  • Dry stirfried green beans on a white plate.
    Photo by Lizzie Mayson
    2/29

    Dry Stir-Fried Green Beans

    Green beans blister nicely on a hot wok (or large frying pan). This dish is flavored with garlic, green onion, and bird’s eye chile.

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  • A bowl of mala dry pot with noodles bok choy fish cake balls and lotus root.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    3/29

    Mala Xiang Guo

    You can think of this dish as hot pot’s soupless cousin. It’s a delightfully flexible recipe—and a great way to revive leftovers. Keep the spice oil in your fridge and you can use it with any cooked vegetables or proteins that you have around.

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  • Fishfrangrant Eggplant with minced pork in a bowl of sauce with white rice on the side.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Anne Eastman, Food Styling by Lillian Chou
    4/29

    Fish-Fragrant Eggplant With Minced Pork

    This luscious eggplant preparation can also be made without the pork—finely diced shiitake mushrooms work well as a substitute.

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  • Fried rice with Chinese sausage carrots and peas in a wok with a spatula.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    5/29

    Fried Rice

    You’re lucky if you have leftover rice on hand—it’s great for making this quick and easy recipe.

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  • A serving bowl of sweet and sour chicken being served with rice.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    6/29

    Sweet and Sour Chicken

    Canned pineapple is key to J. Kenji López-Alt's rendition of the beloved takeout staple.

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  • Vermicelli noodles with braised pork fermented black beans and scallions in a bowl.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Anne Eastman, Food Styling by Lillian Chou
    7/29

    Ants Climbing a Tree

    Bits of minced pork cling to the tangled mound of glass noodles in this Sichuan dish; look for mung bean noodles, not rice vermicelli.

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  • Photo of flowering chives and pork slivers in a bowl.
    Photo by Betty Liu
    8/29

    Flowering Chives and Pork Slivers

    This stir-fry recipe from My Shanghai by Betty Liu pairs the fresh green sweetness of flowering garlic chives and ginger with tender bites of pork loin.

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  • This image may contain Food Dish Meal Plant and Bread
    9/29

    Stir-Fried Egg and Tomato

    There’s nothing more comforting than this simple combo. A pinch of sugar brings out the sweetness of the tomato.

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  • Chicken with carrots bell peppers and potatoes in a wok.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Anne Eastman, Food Styling by Lillian Chou
    10/29

    Big Plate Chicken

    Serve this hearty Xinjiang-style dish of chicken and vegetables over wheat noodles.

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  • Kung pao shrimp with cashews in a bowl.
    Photo by Yudi Ela Echevarria
    13/29

    Kungpao Shrimp

    You can make the sauce for this recipe from The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp by Jing Gao up to two weeks ahead. The stir-frying process takes only five minutes or so, so you’ll want to wait until your rice is ready.

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  • A bowl of fried rice with chicken and vegetables with a side of chili flavored fish sauce.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton
    14/29

    Khao Phat Kai

    This Thai fried rice with chicken from Simple Thai Food by Leela Punyaratabandhu gets a squeeze of lime juice and a drizzle of spicy chile fish sauce at the table.

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  • Stirfried chinese greens with chiles in a bowl.
    Photo by Yudi Ela Echevarria
    17/29

    Stir-Fried Chinese Greens

    Bring out the best in leafy greens like sweet potato leaves, pea shoots, and water spinach with a bit of garlic and ginger and a splash of fish sauce.

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  • Stir fry dry red curry with crispy salmon and vegetables.
    Photo by Maureen M. Evans
    18/29

    Pad Prik Khing Pla Tort

    This dry red curry from Kin Thai by John Chantarasak includes instructions for your making your own aromatic red curry paste. But using store-bought is an option as well.

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  • Photo of Rice Cake with Mixed Vegetables in a wok
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou
    23/29

    Rice Cake With Mixed Vegetables

    Sliced rice cakes offer lots of surface area for soaking up this extra-savory sauce.

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  • A platter of pad see ew Thai stirfried noodles with chicken and Chinese broccoli.
    Photo by Heami Lee, food styling by Judy Haubert, prop styling by Rebecca Bartoshesky
    24/29

    Pad See Ew With Chicken

    You’ll move fast here, so the tender rice noodles absorb the seasoning but don’t get mushy.

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Following stints at StarChefs and Saveur, Joe joined Epicurious in 2016 where he’s written about how to make the very best biscuits, the singularity of third-culture cooking, and the ultimate cream cheese frosting. Currently, he works across both BA and Epi as the senior SEO editor for cooking stories, which ... Read More
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