Here are a few stir-fry sauces I like to make. All three recipes are from the now-defunct cafeteria Eden, which was located in downtown Philadelphia PA: STIR FRY SAUCES Each recipe makes 2 servings but can be doubled. BASIC STIR FRY SAUCE 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil 1/2 tsp. minced garlic 1/2 tsp. minced ginger 1/2 cup chicken broth 1 Tbs. soy sauce 1 Tbs. brown sugar 1/8 tsp. Tabasco 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 1/2 tsp. lemon or lime juice 1 1/2 tsp.cornstarch 1 Tbs. rice wine or sherry Heat the sesame oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry 15-30 second over medium heat to bring out the flavor. Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bring just to a boil, stirring. Dissolve the cornstarch in the wine and whisk into the sauce. Heat until sauce thickens and reaches a full boil. Simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside. GARLIC SESAME STIR FRY SAUCE 1/2 tsp. pepper 2 Tbs. soy sauce 3 Tbs. chicken broth 1 Tbs. sugar 2 1/4 tsp. lemon juice 1/3 cup sesame oil 2 1/4 tsp. minced garlic 1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 1/2 tsp. water Combine the pepper, soy sauce, chicken broth, sugar and lemon juice. In a small saucepan heat the sesame oil. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute until soft but not browned. Add the soy sauce mixture and bring just to a boil. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let boil 20 seconds. Remove from the heat. SZECHUAN STIR FRY SAUCE 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil 1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger 1/2 tsp. minced garlic 1/2 cup chicken broth 2 whole anise stars 1 1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar 1 Tbs. soy sauce 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. hoisin sauce 1/8 tsp. Tabasco sauce 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp. pepper 1/8 tsp. 5 spice powder 2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbs. water Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and saute 1 minute until softened but not browned. In a bowl combine the remaining except for the cornstarch mixture. Add them to the saucepan and bring to a simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove star anise. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let boil 1-2 minutes. Taste and add more Tabasco if desired.

Here are three that I used to make ahead and refrigerate when I was working full time for quick stir fry dinners. STIR FRY SAUCES Each recipe makes 2 servings but can be doubled. BASIC STIR FRY SAUCE 1 1/ 2 tsp. sesame oil 1/ 2 tsp. minced garlic 1/ 2 tsp. minced ginger 1/ 2 cup chicken broth 1 Tbs. soy sauce 1 Tbs. brown sugar 1/ 8 tsp. Tabasco 1/ 2 tsp. salt 1/ 4 tsp. pepper 1 1/ 2 tsp. lemon or lime juice 1 1/ 2 tsp.cornstarch 1 Tbs. rice wine or sherry Heat the sesame oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry 15-30 second over medium heat to bring out the flavor. Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bring just to a boil, stirring. Dissolve the cornstarch in the wine and whisk into the sauce. Heat until sauce thickens and reaches a full boil. Simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside. GARLIC SESAME STIR FRY SAUCE 1/ 2 tsp. pepper 2 Tbs. soy sauce 3 Tbs. chicken broth 1 Tbs. sugar 2 1/ 4 tsp. lemon juice 1/ 3 cup sesame oil 2 1/ 4 tsp. minced garlic 1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 1/ 2 tsp. water Combine the pepper, soy sauce, chicken broth, sugar and lemon juice. In a small saucepan heat the sesame oil. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute until soft but not browned. Add the soy sauce mixture and bring just to a boil. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let boil 20 seconds. Remove from the heat. SZECHUAN STIR FRY SAUCE 1 1/ 2 tsp. sesame oil 1/ 2 tsp. minced fresh ginger 1/ 2 tsp. minced garlic 1/ 2 cup chicken broth 2 whole anise stars 1 1/ 2 tsp. red wine vinegar 1 Tbs. soy sauce 1/ 2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. hoisin sauce 1/8 tsp. Tabasco sauce 1/ 8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 1/ 4 tsp. pepper 1/ 8 tsp. 5 spice powder 2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbs. water Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and saute 1 minute until softened but not browned. In a bowl combine the remaining except for the cornstarch mixture. Add them to the saucepan and bring to a simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove star anise. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and let boil 1-2 minutes. Taste and add more Tabasco if desired. Adapted from The Frog/Commissary Cook Book by Steve Poses, Anne Clark and Becky Roller

Dcarch's comment got me looking up chop suey, and here's an interesting tidbit from wiki: Chop suey is widely believed to have been invented in America by Chinese Americans, but the anthropologist E.N. Anderson concludes that the dish is based on tsap seui (杂碎, “miscellaneous leftovers”), common in Taishan(Toisan), a county in Guangdong Province (Canton), the home of many early Chinese immigrants to the U.S. Seems John's meals certainly qualify as tsap seui, no? Either way, they look great. I've long toyed with the idea of getting one of those high BTU propane burners for wok cooking. There are no great setups for electric that I'm aware of, and taking it outside takes care of the ventilation and splatter all at once. Glad to hear I'm not the only one with picture problems from my phone. It went from working great to working intermittently to not working at all. IMO that's a problem they should fix rather than tell us to email to ourselves, get on a desktop, etc.

I've had Seafood Delight at Chinese buffets around here and I've searched several times for a recipe like it but haven't found one (just searched again on-line and through my Chinese cookbooks for anything similar). The Seafood Delight here is often made with shrimp, [fake] crab, pea pods, and sometimes mushrooms. I think it's a simple white sauce w/ minimal seasonings made with a basic stock -- probably chicken, but you could use veg stock -- perhaps amped up w/ a little dry sherry and maybe a little fish sauce or oyster sauce (depends on how flavorful your seafood is)... maybe garlic, but I'd go light-handed to start. I'm not convinced there's much more in it... could be a splash of light soy sauce, but not enough to darken an otherwise white sauce. I don't detect egg, ginger, onions, or any of the usual suspects. ETA: IOW, if I were to try your variation, I'd get a hot wok, add a bit of veg oil, add 1 clove minced garlic (haha!), saute one min., then add fake crab and mushrooms as req'd to cook through or heat fully (i.e., mushrooms first if they're raw, because I'd want to handle the fake crab as little as possible). I'd add a splash of dry sherry (like 1 tbs to deglaze), then I'd add a slurry made from chicken/veg stock and cornstarch and simmer/stir to thicken.... maybe also w/ some fish sauce since you're only using fake crab, and I'd probably also add a splash of light soy sauce. lol! At least that's where I'd start -- and then I'd figure out where it needed to go from there.