Hunan Beef With Cumin

I disagree. My wok is one of my most used pans. Just because you don't have the 20,000-30,000 btu flames of a chinese kitchen doesn't mean that a wok isn't a useful pan for stirfry. Furthermore, a cast iron is a terrible choice as a replacement. It's very heavy and takes a long time to heat and gives you very little heat control. A wok is much thinner, heats faster and gives you much better control over heat. A good carbon steel wok is the best tool for stir fry

This is a classic Chinese technique known as "shallow frying" and they do it with MANY of their stir fried meats as part of a two-step cooking process, to set the cornstarch "velvet" coatings, and to partially cook the meat before the final high heat stir fry. I find that I can get away with less oil, but you do want enough oil to submerge the meat. This method helps make the meat turn out tender.

Please, no pouring of oil right down the drain! It will harm the ocean environment (so I was taught. ) Pour out into a heat-resistant container, and once no longer super hot but still warm, strain into a lidded metal oil pot. Can be bought for 20 dollars. Reuse oil to deep-fry or stir-fry other meats, or for fried chicken. When it looks too dark or smells too used, use old cloth or newspaper to soak up and throw away.