Stir-fry sauce

Stir-frys are an excellent way to do two things I love: 1) Clean out the fridge of random bits of veggies, and 2) Eat cheap.  And it doesn't hurt that they're delicious.  This is a simple stir-fry sauce and method that's pretty much idiot-proof, which is good for me because, while I've known how to properly make guacamole since infancy, the Rankin household didn't do alot of Asia cuisine growing up.  I'm working on catching up.

2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp garlic, minced (about 2 cloves)
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Makes 2 servings

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients except sesame seeds and set aside.  For a stir-fry, chop up about half a cup of your two favorite veggies (broccoli and carrots work well, just make sure the carrots are thinly sliced).  Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a wok or large skillet over med-hi to hi heat.  Stir-fry for about a minute.  Then add 1/4 cup veggie broth, reduce heat and simmer covered for 5 minutes.  Add the soy sauce mixture and turn heat back up; stir-fry for another minute or two, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Remove from heat and stir in sesame seeds.  Serve over steamed rice.

NOTES:
(a)  The good thing about stir-frys is that they can be adapted easily.  If you have and want to use more veggies in your dish (sliced mushrooms, onion, green beans, etc), double the sauce recipe.  If you want to make it lower in sodium, add more veggies but leave the quantity of sauce the same. 
(b)  Where extra sauce comes in handy is when you need to flavor your bland rice.  By cooking your rice in equal parts water and veggie stock instead of only water, you eliminate the need to use quite so much soy sauce.
(c) Turning this into a meat dish is easy.  Cube about half a pound of meat (chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp would all work fine) and sautee them in 1-2 Tbsp olive oil in a separate skillet.  Then add your meat at the same time you add the soy sauce mixture to the stir-fry mixture. 
(d)  For my recipe, I made a thin, plain omelette (just eggs, salt and pepper).  When my omelette was cooked, I removed it from the skillet, rolled it into a cigar shape, cut it diagonally 1/4" thick, and folded it into my stir-fry after the sesame seeds.  If you do this, make sure you allow about 5 min. for your rolled omelette to cool before cutting it and adding it to the dish or else it unrolls and doesn't look quite as nice.