Mom's Ad Lib Stir Fry

We lived overseas when I was a little girl, and from that time on our family ate a lot of rice and stir-fry meals. Some years ago I asked my mom for her stir-fry recipe while visiting with her. She explained that she just made it ad lib, but she gave me some ideas which I wrote down. After I got back home I tried making it for Brett, but the results were not that great. To this day I don't know what I did wrong (forgot the sugar maybe?). Happily, I tried making it again a few years later. Since that time stir-fry has become one of our quick-and-easy standby recipes. It's even better when I buy a family-size package of beef or boneless pork, trim the fat off, cut it into bite-sized pieces, and freeze it in smaller quantities. I can usually get three meals out of a family-sized package. I also keep a few bags of frozen broccoli stir-fry vegetables in the freezer, as well as the single-serving cans of pineapple juice in the pantry to have on hand to make the sauce. I change it up and rarely do exactly the same thing twice. It's a hit with the whole family every time.

Mom's Ad Lib Stir Fry
Source: Mom

1 pound beef or pork, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
2-4 tablespoons oil
1 heaping teaspoon garlic (I use jarred garlic for convenience)
1/2 ginger, optional (I used jarred ginger for convenience)
2-3 cups vegetables, cut into bite-sized pieces (fresh or frozen); if using fresh carrots, be sure to slice them thin
green onions, optional
1 cup juice (orange or pineapple)
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons sugar (white or brown)
2 tablespoons vinegar, optional
3 tablespoons cornstarch
cooked rice, for serving

Start cooking rice. Add oil, garlic and ginger to a wok or other large frying pan. Add meat and cook until browned. Add vegetables and cook until tender. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine juice, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Stir until cornstarch has dissolved. Add sauce to pan and cook until it just comes to a boil and becomes clear and thickened. Remove from heat. Serve over rice.