There are more authentic books out there, but few spell out the basics as clearly as "Wok Fast" by Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison (Ten Speed Press, 2002). This pair has written six previous books and half of them had to do with Asian-style quick cooking.

Here's a stir-fry primer based on their latest.

Be prepared

• Cut the food into small, evenly sized pieces. The smaller the food is cut, the faster it cooks.

• Finish all preparation before beginning the stir-fry.

• Never cook more than 1 pound of meat or seafood or 4 cups of vegetables. If you want to double a recipe, enlist a cooking companion to stir-fry the second portion in another wok (or do it in batches).

• Line up ingredients in the order they will be added. Then close the cookbook or write very brief cooking notes on a large sheet of paper posted next to the wok. Reading recipe directions and wok cooking are incompatible activities. Put the ingredients in heat-proof bowls or on plates.

• For every wok recipe, prepare a cornstarch mixture just before stir-frying. Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water and 1/2 teaspoon cooking oil. At the very end of the cooking process, if the sauce looks watery, thicken it by stirring in a little of the cornstarch mixture or you can use arrowroot similarly.b>The Stir-Fry Dance

• Heat the wok over the highest possible heat until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon of flavorless cooking oil (peanut, safflower or soybean) to the center of the wok and roll the oil quickly but carefully around the bottom third of the wok. If all this isn't done quickly, the oil will begin to smoke and be in danger of bursting into flames. (If the oil flames, remain calm. Cover the wok and remove it from the heat.)

• When the oil just begins to give off a wisp of smoke, add the meat or seafood. Do this by placing the container close to the bottom of the wok and gently sliding the food into the wok. Never drop the food into the wok or the oil will splatter.

• Stir-fry the meat or seafood using a wooden spatula. While one hand holds the wok handle, the other stirs. Spread the ingredients evenly across the surface in order to sear the food, wait 2 to 5 seconds, and then stir and toss the food again. Cook about 1 minute.

• Remove the food from the wok by sliding it onto a platter or plate.

• Return the wok to high heat and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil. Roll the oil around the sides of the wok.

• When the oil is hot, add the vegetables (see below). Stir-fry until their color brightens, 1 to 2 minutes. If the vegetables appear about to scorch but their color has not brightened, add about 1/4 cup water, broth, rice wine or dry sherry.

• Immediately add the wok sauce, pouring it into the bottom third of the wok. Return the meat or seafood to the wok. Continue stir-frying until the sauce glazes all the ingredients and thickens slightly, about 1 minute.

• If the sauce appears watery, pour in a little of the cornstarch mixture. Hold the spatula or spoon level, pour about 1 teaspoon of the mixture onto the spatula and stir this into the stir-fry. When the sauce returns to a low boil, if it still has not thickened, then add a little more in the same manner.

• Slide the food onto a heated platter or dinner plates.

Improvising

• Meat selection — Choose any raw meat that will be tender with only brief cooking. Cut 1/4 pound to 1 pound of meat into small pieces, about 1/8 by 1/2 by 1 inch.>• Seafood selection — Choose 1/4 pound to 1 pound of raw shrimp, scallops, squid or firm-fleshed fish such as tuna, shark or swordfish. Shell, devein and butterfly or split the shrimp in half lengthwise; cut scallops into thin disks; cut fish into small pieces about 1/8 by 1/2 by 1 inch.

• Vegetable selection — Don't include every vegetable in your refrigerator in a single wok dish! And never put more than 4 cups of vegetables in the wok unless you wish to create vegetable soup.

• Quick-cooking vegetables: thin asparagus, baby green beans, Chinese long beans, cabbages including bok choy, Japanese eggplant, mushrooms, onions, peas, peppers (bell and hot chili peppers) and summer squash.

• Longer-cooking vegetables: thick asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, potatoes, string beans and yams.

• Leafy greens: Lettuces, spinach and bean sprouts. These are the exception to the 4-cup rule. If stir-frying only leafy greens, you may add up to 8 cups to the wok.

Marinades

• What to marinate — All meat (beef, pork, chicken), already cut into small pieces for stir-frying, should be marinated. Otherwise, the meat may stick to the wok and will not have a complex taste.

• How long — Cover, refrigerate and marinate meat from 5 minutes up to 8 hours. Marinate firm fish no longer than 15 minutes.

• Using marinades as sauces — Instead of using a wok sauce, we often use marinades as a sauce. Add the marinade during the final few seconds of stir-frying.

• How much sauce to add — The ideal amount of sauce to mix with 1 pound of meat is 4 to 5 tablespoons; use 3 tablespoons for firm fish. If you use a larger amount of marinade, the food will boil in the marinade that clings to it and the oil will splatter.

• How to add the wok sauce — Quickly pour the sauce around the bottom one-third of the wok in a circular motion.