Have you ever wondered the origin of stir frying?

In ancient China, forests had to be cut down to plant crops for the expanding Chinese population. As a result, during the Han dynasty (206BC - 220 AD), there was a shortage of firewood. The people found a new way of cooking that minimise the use of fuel. They chopped the meat and vegetables into bite size pieces so that it can cook in a shorter time and therefore, requiring less fuel. This is how the best-known Chinese cooking technique - stir frying comes to being.