Of course I have soy sauce and sesame oil, amongst other go-to Asian ingredients, such as ginger and garlic, but when I’m feeling lazy, I rely on only 3 ingredients to whip up a quick and tasty stir-fry:
Oyster sauce: is this thick, sweet and salty sauce that doesn’t taste like oysters or seafood, in my opinion. It just tastes like someone whipped up a delicious medley of soy sauce, sugar, garlic and tastiness together, in one syrupy dark sauce. In other words, it adds most of the flavor you desire, just from one bottle.
Chili garlic sauce: can be the sister of the familiar sriracha sauce or what has been coined as “rooster sauce” because of the image on the bottle. The only differences between the two are that chili garlic sauce doesn’t come with a spout, is less sweet than sriracha, and is chunkier so you can see the seeds of the chili peppers. That’s why I prefer it in stir-frys because the chili seeds make it look more authentic, in my opinion. This adds that punch of heat you need in a good stir-fry.
Corn starch: is what makes that silky shiny and dare I say it, gloppy consistency that people either love or hate. I admit, some restaurants overdo it and some dishes are way too thick, but just adding the smallest amount thickens the sauce and pulls everything together. Plus, it gives the stir-fry that beautiful shiny glazed look, without adding much anything to the taste. It also can make the meat taste more tender. Just think of it as flour that you add as a base when making a roux. The only difference is that you must dissolve the corn starch in a little water (called a slurry), pour it into your sauce and bring it to a boil for it to thicken correctly.
Case in point, I just happened to have some mish mash random leftover veggies, one chicken breast, and thinly sliced rib-eye meat in my freezer (which is what a lot of Koreans usually have), so I chopped them up and threw them into a hot pan with some oil until the meat was just cooked through and the veggies were a tad softened, but still firm. I tossed in some oyster sauce and a spoonful of chili garlic to taste, and stirred in the corn starch slurry.
A sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and it was just so unchallenging to make. Joe and I often eat some version of this type of thing on a regular basis, of course, mixing it up with different ingredients now and then, but I always make sure I have these 3 guys living in my home at all times, just to make my life that much easier.
