Simple Stir-fry Sauce

A simple stir-fry sauce is handy to
have in your pocket for a quick meal using any combination of veggies, protein, and garnishes you have on hand.

I usually tackle stir-fry with a simple method:

1. cook the starch first--rice, soba noodles, rice or egg noodles, leaving it covered warm in the pot
2. saute and set aside your protein--chicken, pork, shrimp, beef, or tofu
3. saute your veggies and ...
4. reintroduce everything into your pan, adding your sauce and a splash of broth until thickened and heated through

Tonight I found some Lap Cheong in the freezer (affectionately known as "Meat Treasure" in our house as it is a sweet, salty, almost candied meat that can be found nestled inside traditional sticky rice, which is a family favourite at dim sum and a childhood comfort food for my husband; I decided to cook it for a treat.

I tucked the sausage into the pot of brown Basmati rice I made. Basically when your rice is tender, your sausage will be cooked, and you can slice it and garnish your stir-fry with whatever makes it past the cutting board!

I sauteed a bag of Man's Rainbow Salad with sliced onions, sweet peppers, and mushrooms, threw in some left-over roast chicken (but cubed tofu tastes great here too!), and when everything was heated through, I added my stir--fry sauce and a splash of veggie broth.

Stir-fry sauce:

4 Tablespoons of maple syrup
6 Tablespoons of soy sauce
6 teaspoons of sesame oil
3 cloves of minced or grated garlic
a generous tablespoon of grated ginger root
1 tablespoon of chili-garlic hot sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch (depending on how thick you like your sauce)

Whisk all the ingredients and add to your pan once your veggies are tender-crisp.  I usually add a splash of veggie broth or water to increase the sauciness a bit.  Depending on how many veggies and how much protein you have in your pan, you may not need all of your sauce.

Dinner prep simplified by using pre-cut veggies and left-over roast meat; elevated by the sausage, green onions, and roasted black sesame seed garnishes.