When I cut up pork steak into pieces for stir-fry, why can't I get the pieces to fry instead of boil in the pan?

Boiling sounds like more water than oil?
A lot of meat I buy is pumped full of water.

That was my first thought - especially seems to happen when the meat has been frozen and then thawed - pisses me off. Sometimes I think that the only thing that can come close to being as bad for meat as a microwave is a freezer.

Your pieces are too large, your pan is not hot enough, your doing too much at once, or a combo of those three are the most common. Many stir fry recipes have a wet marinade, so too wet is not likely.

What he said

All the above. Also, when I stir fry meats let them sit in the fridge and open air dry for about an hour. And Sean is right. You want that pan or wok as hot as you can get it without totally burning down the house. And don't crowd the pan. A mistake many make with fried chicken. Smaller pieces is always best. Most pork dishes are shredded or julienne.

Frankly, this sounds like an excellent question for Leighton and/or his lovely wife!!

Your wok is not hot enough. When I use mine I never place anything in it until it reaches 650-700 degrees by my IR gun. It's what the Chinese call "wok hay", and it's the difference between good and great stir fry.

Mike

I pat it down with paper towels before.

Thanks for all the replies. I have long suspected that, along with the too-wet meat, the temperature needs to be higher. My wife somewhere got it into her head that the knobs on the stove should never go above medium. Anytime I get a pan anywhere near hot, she starts having nervous conniptions.

When I stir fry and brown meat the knob gets cranked all the way up.

More hotter is more gooder.

One other thing that hasn't been mentioned is have the meat at room temp before browning.

And ... brown it in two skillets or two batches if you're using a lot of meat.

I find that with meat that has been frozen, bring it first to room temp. Make sure the pieces are small, and that they have been pressed between a couple of paper towels, to remove as much moisture as possible. Yeah, you lose some flavor, but at least you can 'stir fry' it then.

Heat that sum beetch till you can about read a newspaper through it and then start cooking. With a little peanut oil, shrimp take about a minute and a half. Pork and beef two minutes, and chicken maybe two and a half minutes. I think the chicken could be less, but I've never been a fan of spending two days on the hopper, if you get my drift.

Mike