Flip Food in a Pan

A very useful skill when stir frying or sauteing large quantities of food in a skillet is flipping the food using the pan. It's a classic chef's move and looks impressive when done right. But it also has a functional purpose - when done properly it the food being flipped switches sides, and moves cooler ingredients from the top of the pan to the hot skillet surface.

Steps

 * 1) Heat your skillet (high for stir fry, lower if sauteing).
 * 2) Add oil to the pan.
 * 3) Add your first ingredient if using multiple ingredients. This should be whatever takes the longest to cook.
 * 4) *If combining meat and veggies, it would usually be the meat (or meat substitute if cooking a vegetarian dish).
 * 5) *If cooking veggies alone, onions or carrots are a good place to start.
 * 6) Cook for a few minutes. If using multiple ingredients, now is probably a good time to add in the next ingredient. Distribute it evenly over the top of the first ingredient but do not mix it in.
 * 7) Prepare for the flip. Pick up the skillet and hold above the burner. Do not try to flip food with a skillet that is too heavy for you to easily control.
 * 8) To flip, use a quick wrist motion to move the skillet away from you.
 * 9) *Resist the temptation to do a lot of flipping the skillet up, as this can send hot food and oil back in your direction.
 * 10) *Instead, what you want to is allow the sloped side of the skillet to direct the food up.
 * 11) Once the food hits the edge, do a small backward jerk, and then move the skillet forward again to catch the food that has been sent upward.
 * 12) Repeat as needed until you have flipped all of the food over.

Tips

 * Start small with your flipping - a few small flips will do a pretty good job, and you're less likely to make a mess.

Warnings

 * Don't try this with very heavy pans.
 * Do not do this when using large quantities of oil. Oil burns can be quite severe, and cooking fires can result.