Universal stir-fry sauce, demonstrated in a simple chicken and vegetable stir-fry

Mix the base sauce: oyster sauce as the largest part, soy sauce, a smaller proportion of fish sauce, and a little Golden Mountain sauce. Optionally add one to two teaspoons of dark soy sauce for colour. Keep in a squeeze bottle in the fridge; it keeps a very long time.

Optional when cooking: about a tablespoon of Thai chili paste per wok, or half tao jiao (fermented soybean paste) and half stir-fry sauce for vegetables.

Before prepping anything else, season the sliced chicken with a teaspoon or two of the sauce so it is seasoned through; no long marinating needed.

On medium heat, add a little oil and the aromatics first (onions before garlic if using, since garlic burns faster); saute until the garlic just turns golden, not dark, or it turns bitter.

Add the chicken; cook until the outside is done.

Add the hard vegetables and toss. Add the sauce at about one tablespoon per serving and sugar at about 1/4 tsp per person; turn up the heat.

Add extra dark soy sauce if wanted and cook until the chicken is done and the vegetables are as tender as you like; add pepper.

Turn off the heat, toss in the tomato and let residual heat soften it.

Taste and adjust; top with garlic chives and serve with rice.