I often make stir-fry at home because it’s not only simple, but it’s also a healthy way to get a colorful mix of vegetables into my diet. Stir-fry is easy. You pretty much just cut up a bunch of vegetables and toss it altogether in a wok. The only challenging thing is making the stir-fry sauce. I have tried many store-bought stir-fry sauces and all have disappoint. First of all, the already made stir-fry sauce never taste authentic enough for me. It’s probably because they are all made by American companies. Second, I can make my own stir-fry sauce for a fraction of the cost of those bottled ones. And third, it’s not at all that hard. I want to give credit to my mother-in-law who has taught me many things in the kitchen. Here’s my her recipe for a stir-fry sauce:
A very simple yet delicious stir-fry sauce recipe:
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3 tablespoons flour (I use Tapioca flour but any flour would do)
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1/2 cup cold water or stock (stock preferred)
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1/2 cup oyster sauce
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2 tablespoons sugar
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1 teaspoon MSG (optional)
Dissolve the flour in the cold water or stock. I prefer to use chicken stock as it adds a good hearty flavor to the stir-fry. Mix in the oyster sauce, sugar and MSG. And ta-daaa, you got yourself a delicious and simple stir-fry sauce! Now, wasn’t that simple?
Now, for the vegetables. You can use any starchy or thick vegetables. Here are a few ideas and some of my favorites:
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Mushrooms (shitakes..yum)
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Bamboo shoots
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Baby corn
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Bell peppers
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Asparagus
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Broccoli
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Cauliflower
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Cabbage
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Carrots
Best way to evenly cook your vegetables is to blanch them for a few minutes with a little bit of salt and oil.
Then heat up a wok with a little bit of oil. Minced up some garlic and fry until fragrant. Pour in your stir-fry mixture. Mix until it gets thick, which will only take a few seconds. Do not worry if it clumps up. It can be thinned out later.
Toss in your blanched vegetables into the mixture until evenly coated. If you find that your mixture clumps together, add a bit more water or stock. Your sauce should be thick enough that it sticks onto the vegetable without any clumps.
For a beautiful finish, top it off with scallions (cut at a diagonal in 1/2 inches).
Of course, to make any stir-fry into a full meal, feel free to add in any meat: pork, beef, chicken…the options are endless. Marinate first with a little bit of salt, pepper and oil. Cook the meat first in the wok before adding in the blanched vegetables.
Happy and healthy eating!
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