Happy Family is a delightful and harmonious American-Chinese stir-fry that lives up to its name. This dish is all about bringing together a variety of ingredients – proteins and vegetables – in a flavorful brown sauce, creating a balanced and satisfying meal for everyone at the table. The beauty of Happy Family lies in its versatility and the promise that, just like a happy family, diverse elements can come together beautifully.
At its core, this recipe features a rich and savory Asian brown sauce, layered with flavors from different sauces that create a truly robust taste. You’ll need a large wok or a wide pan to make this stir-fry, giving you enough space to toss all the ingredients without overcrowding. It’s a fantastic one-pot meal that pairs perfectly with steamed rice, making it an ideal choice for a family dinner.
While the ingredient list might seem extensive, remember that Happy Family is designed to be flexible. Feel free to adapt it based on what you have available. The key components to maintain are the aromatic base and the signature brown sauce, as these elements define the essential flavor profile of the dish.
This recipe is perfect for feeding a hungry family or a group of friends – a truly ‘happy family’, if you will! Like most stir-fries, it’s cooked quickly over high heat, so preparation is key. Having all your ingredients chopped, measured, and ready to go before you start cooking will ensure a smooth and efficient process. Vegetables are added in stages to ensure they remain slightly crisp-tender, maintaining a pleasant texture in the final dish. Nobody enjoys soggy vegetables in a stir-fry!
Close-up shot of Happy Family Stir-Fry in a wok, showcasing the variety of meats and vegetables in a rich brown sauce.
Most of the ingredients for Happy Family Stir-Fry are readily available in standard grocery stores. You can usually find water chestnuts and baby corn in the international food aisle. For straw mushrooms, you might have better luck at an Asian grocery store, but feel free to substitute with shiitake or any other mushrooms you prefer. Interestingly, many regular supermarkets now carry a wider variety of Asian mushrooms in the produce section, so it’s worth checking there too. All the essential sauces for the brown sauce can typically be found in Asian grocery stores, offering the authentic flavors needed for this dish.
HAPPY FAMILY STIR-FRY RECIPE: ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR FLAVOR
To make the best Happy Family Stir-Fry, understanding the role of each sauce is crucial. Here’s a breakdown to guide you:
Thin Soy Sauce: This is your standard, everyday soy sauce, providing the primary salty base for the dish. Brands like Kikkoman are great choices. With thin soy sauce in the mix, you likely won’t need to add any extra salt to your stir-fry, as it provides ample salinity.
Thick/Sweet Soy Sauce (Kicap Manis): This soy sauce is noticeably thicker, almost like molasses in consistency. It’s darker in color and sweetened with sugar. ABC brand Kicap Manis is a popular and authentic choice, adding both sweetness and a beautiful rich color to your stir-fry. The sweetness balances the saltiness and adds depth to the overall flavor profile.
Oyster Sauce: Oyster sauce is irreplaceable in this recipe due to its unique umami-rich flavor. Choosing the right brand is important to achieve the authentic taste. Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand oyster sauce is a widely recommended and reliable option. It’s advisable to purchase oyster sauce from an Asian grocery store to ensure you get a quality product that delivers the intended flavor. Oyster sauce is incredibly versatile and can be used in many other Asian-inspired dishes, such as vegetable stir-fries like baby kailan in oyster sauce or mushrooms in oyster sauce. It also enhances noodle dishes when combined with soy sauce and sweet soy sauce as a flavor base.
Sesame Oil: Sesame oil is used as a finishing oil, not for cooking at high temperatures. Its purpose is to add a distinctive smoky aroma and flavor to the finished stir-fry. A light drizzle at the very end of cooking is all you need to infuse the dish with its nutty fragrance. Kadoya sesame oil is a highly favored brand for its quality and aroma.
With these tips in mind, you’re well-equipped to create a fantastic Happy Family Stir-Fry. Enjoy the cooking process and the delicious results!
Overhead shot of prepared ingredients for Happy Family Stir-Fry, including sliced meats, chopped vegetables, and sauces in small bowls.
Ready to Cook? Here’s the Happy Family Stir-Fry Recipe
If you’re ready to bring the happy family flavors to your kitchen, here’s the recipe. It’s easy to follow and promises a delightful and satisfying meal.
Ingredients
Meats:
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
- 1/2 lb beef, thinly sliced
- 6 large prawns, shelled, tail on
- 1/2 cup scallops
Vegetables:
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1/4 cup carrots, sliced
- 1/2 cup straw mushrooms
- 1/2 cup water chestnuts
- 1 cup baby corn
- 1/2 cup snow peas
- 1/2 cup green, yellow, and red bell peppers, chopped
- 3 green onions, sliced
Aromatics:
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger, minced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons thin soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet/thick soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- Pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water (cornstarch slurry)
Instructions
- Prepare the Sauce: In a bowl, whisk together all sauce ingredients except for the cornstarch slurry. Set aside.
- Sauté Aromatics and Meats: Heat a wok or large pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir-fry Meats: Add beef, chicken, prawns, and scallops to the wok. Stir-fry until beef is browned, chicken is no longer pink, and prawns turn pink, approximately 3-5 minutes.
- Add Vegetables (except broccoli and green onions): Toss in carrots, straw mushrooms, water chestnuts, baby corn, snow peas, and bell peppers. Stir-fry for 2 minutes to combine and slightly soften the vegetables.
- Pour in Sauce: Pour the prepared sauce mixture into the wok and stir well to ensure all ingredients are coated.
- Thicken Sauce: Pour in the cornstarch slurry and simmer, stirring continuously, until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency.
- Add Broccoli and Green Onions: Add broccoli florets and green onions to the wok. Stir-fry for another minute, ensuring the broccoli remains crisp-tender and the green onions are slightly softened.
- Finish and Serve: Remove from heat and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Add a dash of pepper to taste and mix thoroughly.
- Serve Hot: Dish out your Happy Family Stir-Fry and serve hot with steamed rice.
Enjoy your homemade Happy Family Chinese Food! It’s a fantastic way to bring the flavors of your favorite Chinese restaurant into your own kitchen. Don’t forget to rate the recipe if you try it!
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