Recipe - Two Stir-Fry Sauces

Beaver will eat any vegetable, any time of day, fresh or cooked.  Not me.  I really dislike raw vegetables, therefore salads are not my friend.  I dislike many cooked vegetables too, when they're served by themselves.  I do, however, like most vegetables if you put them in a casserole or stir-fry.  Casseroles are based so often on cream soups which are high in calories and sodium so my preferred method of getting lots and lots of vegetables is to stir-fry them with some chicken, shrimp or pork.

Because I'm always stir-frying, I'm always needing a sauce.  The best outcome is when I consult one of my recipes.  Usually I'm lazy and just wing it.  It's really better to get it right.  When I wing it and the family really approves, I write down what I did.

The first recipe of the two below is one I found on the internet and copied, and it's a great go-to stir-fry sauce.  The second recipe is one I created over the years.  It's written on a scrap of paper because I wanted to use it again, and I have, and I consider it worthy to share.  I developed it as part of my quest to recreate my childhood favorite New Jersey take-out chow mein.

Basic Stir-Fry Sauce

Ingredients

1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon minced ginger

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon tabasco sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon rice wine or sherry

Procedure

Stir-fry garlic and ginger in sesame oil 15 seconds.  Add everything else except cornstarch and wine.  Bring just to a boil.  Dissolve cornstarch in wine and whisk into sauce.  Heat to a full boil then turn down to simmer 30 seconds.

White Stir-Fry Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon curry powder

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Procedure

How do I usually do this?  Let's see... I put it all in a small saucepan and turn on the heat, whisking as it gets hot.  The cornstarch thickens the mixture up once you reach a boil.