What Is Sausage Stir-Fry?

Sausage stir-fry is a dish containing sausage, vegetables and rice or noodles. The ingredients of sausage stir-fry are combined in a wok and stirred while cooking over high heat. Various spices, sauces and vegetable combinations are used to add a distinct taste of a particular area or region to sausage stir-fry dishes. Some stir-fry recipes use precooked or smoked sausage links, while others use a raw, bulk-type sausage to create the dish.

Prepared in a wok over high heat, sausage stir-fry is a twist on an distinctly Asian staple, the stir-fry meal. Combining sausage and vegetables with rice, noodles and fruit, sausage stir-fry is a meal that is well-suited for lunch or dinner and can be prepared in a matter of minutes with very little prep work. When using a spicy sausage blend, such as a hot sausage or an Italian sausage, a sweet-and-sour type sauce is often used. This sweetness is a contrast to the heat of the spice in the sausage and typically complements the dish with a small amount of pineapple or plum added to the mixture.

Some sausage stir-fry recipes replicate a culture's claim-to-fame flavors. Such is the case with sweet sausage with pepper and onion stir-fry. This dish combines the sweet taste of sweet Italian sausage with the flavor of onion and green peppers. It is typically served over a bed of white or brown rice and topped with a light sauce created by de-glazing the wok with a small amount of Saki, a traditionally Asian rice wine. While the bulk style of sausage is easy to use in the stir-fry style of cooking, many stir-fry recipes use the link-type, smoked sausage cut into strips or small chunks. This is typically a very flavorful meat that is able to pass its smokey flavor along to the other ingredients in the dish.

The secret to a successful stir-fry is high heat. For most dishes, the wok should be smoking hot before any ingredient is placed into the pan to begin cooking. The food should be stirred constantly to prevent burning and to make certain that all sides of the ingredients are cooked equally. Some recipes call for the ingredients to be cooked individually and then removed from the wok to allow the next ingredient to be cooked. Once all of the ingredients have been cooked, the entire sausage stir-fry meal is placed into the wok together and rewarmed.