After my meal plan on Monday, I had several people ask me for my stir-fry sauce recipe. Truth be told, I don’t have a “recipe” per se, rather more of a guideline (like most of my cooking!). I will admit, that until about a year ago, my stir-fry sauce was nothing more than soy sauce and water. Sufficient, but nothing to write home about. This all changed with the January 2012 Season’s Magazine (pg 42) and the Hoisin Beef and Pepper Stir-Fry. Who knew that hoisin was so amazing?!

Hoisin Beef and Pepper Stir-Fry

I am always trying new recipes, whether in my job or at home and there are occasionally recipes that are what I call “life-changing”. This is one of those moments. Stir-Fry was always something that, when made at home, lacked a lot of flavor and deliciousness as compared to the local restaurants.  It was okay, but definitely not a meal that I looked forward to on the menu. Once I made this recipe, I found that “Stir-Fry” was popping up on Friday nights a lot more often (coveted meals are saved for Friday nights).

Now, like any good recipe, I can’t just leave it alone. I need to tweak and modify to make my own. I will admit that I am always changing what I put in the sauce depending on the protein used and also what sauces I have on hand.

Protein options: Shrimp, Beef (steak), Chicken, Turkey and Pork

Vegetable options: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Snap Peas, Green Beans, Asparagus, Rutabaga, Jicama, Carrots, Celery, Onions, Peppers, Mushrooms, Sprouts, Cabbages or anything else you have on hand!

Cut up meat and vegetables into bite-sized pieces. On HIGH, cook up your protein first, set aside. Cook up vegetables for just a couple minutes. You want your veggies to still have a little texture (not mushy). Add back in the protein and stir in the below sauce recipe. Cook for about 2 minutes until the sauce thickens. Serve immediately over prepared brown rice.

Stir-Fry Sauce

All you need:
3 tbsp reduced sodium soy-sauce
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp additional sauce*

All you do:
Mix all ingredients together until cornstarch is completely disolved. Add to your already-cooked stir-fry mixture the last 2 minutes. Stiring until the sauce thickens.

*Additional sauce ideas: Fish sauce, Peanut sauce, Sweet Ginger Sesame Grill Sauce (House of Tsang) or Stir-Fry sauce