Wondering what to cook when everyone wants something a little different? Happy Family it is! This epic stir fry, which often finds its way onto the Chef’s Specials section of Chinese takeout menus, features beef, chicken, pork and shrimp, along with a variety of vegetables. There’s something here for everyone.
Ingredients
- Meats – Chicken breast, steak (ribeye, strip or sirloin), and pork loin. These are all cut very thinly against the grain.
- Marinade – Corn starch, baking soda, oyster sauce and Chinese cooking wine. This marinade “velvets” the meat, making it very tender when cooked.
- Shrimp – Peeled and deveined. Some variations of Happy Family also include other seafoods.
- Cooking oil – Stir fry technique relies on hot temperatures, so use something with a high smoke point like peanut or canola oil.
- Fresh vegetables – I am using broccoli, carrot, bell pepper and snow peas in this version. Sometimes I’ll also throw in mushrooms or swap the snow peas out for snap peas or green beans.
- Aromatics – Garlic and ginger, of course.
- Baby corn – Out of a can, drained.
- Water chestnuts – Also canned. These add a unique crunch.
- Stir fry sauce – Chicken broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce, Chinese cooking wine, sesame oil, and a touch of sugar.
Chinese Happy Family Recipe
1. Marinate the meats: First, I whisk together the marinade ingredients in a large bowl, then add the sliced chicken, steak and pork. Because they will be all cooking together, they can all marinade together.
2. Make the sauce: Next, I whisk together all sauce ingredients in a bowl.
3. Cook the shrimp: Now to get cooking. I heat oil in my largest wok over high heat. Once it’s very hot, I add the shrimp and stir fry until they are almost cooked through, about 3-5 minutes, then remove them to a plate.
4. Sear meats: I add a bit more oil, then stir fry about half of the combined meats until they are mostly cooked through. I remove the meat to a plate, then stir fry the other half of the meat. Note: If you have a large griddle, you can get away with cooking the meats all in one batch.
5. Add vegetables and aromatics: I again add more oil, then add broccoli, carrot and bell pepper and stir fry them until they’re almost ready. I add the ginger and garlic and toss for another 20-30 seconds.
6. Finish the stir fry: Almost done. I add the baby corn and water chestnuts, toss for about a minute, then add cooked meats and shrimp, along with the prepared sauce. I toss everything together and cook for a minute or two to allow everything to heat up and the sauce to thicken slightly. Finally, I stir in the snow peas.
Recipe Tips
- Freeze the meats: I find that partially freezing the chicken makes it much easier to slice very thinly.
- Velveting is key: I always make sure to marinate the meat before cooking. Otherwise you can end up with a very chewy stir fry.
- Prep in advance: Having all my ingredients sliced, diced, and ready to go makes the cooking process smoother and faster.
- Cook in batches: This is a big stir fry with plenty of meat. Cook in batches to make sure each piece gets cooked evenly.
- Serving suggestion: There’s a lot going on with all those meats and veggies, so I find some simple steamed rice to be the perfect accompaniment.
Storage and Reheating
This is a big recipe, so we always have leftovers. They refrigerate well for 2-3 days in a sealed container. I generally don’t recommend freezing leftover Happy Family, because the vegetables lose their texture.
To reheat, you can warm the leftover stir fry in a hot oiled skillet, or just pop it in the microwave.
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Try these other great stir fry recipes!
Moo Goo Gai Pan
Mie Goreng
Hibachi Chicken
Pork Stir Fry
Yakisoba
Empress Chicken
Tomato Egg Stir Fry
Happy Family Stir Fry, on our Gypsy Plate… enjoy!
Happy Family (Chinese Restaurant Dish)
This Chinese Happy Family dish is an epic stir fry with chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, and lots of colorful vegetables.
Ingredients
Meat Marinade
- 1 Tbsp corn starch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- ½ pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into ⅛ inch slices
- ½ pound steak (ribeye, strip or sirloin), cut into ⅛ inch slices
- ½ pound pork loin, cut into ⅛ inch slices
Stir Fry Sauce
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp sugar
Stir Fry
- 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 small head broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 medium carrot, sliced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into bite sized chunks
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 14oz can baby corn, drained
- 1 5oz can water chestnuts, drained
- 4oz snow peas
Instructions
- Marinate the meats: In a large bowl, whisk together 1 Tbsp each of cornstarch, oyster sauce and Chinese cooking wine along with 1 teaspoon each of baking soda and vegetable oil. Add sliced chicken, steak and pork. Toss meats to coat well. Allow to marinade while preparing other ingredients.
- Make the sauce: Whisk together all sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
- Cook the shrimp: In a wok or very large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil over high heat. Once very hot, add shrimp and stir fry until they are almost cooked through, about 3-5 minutes depending on their size. Remove to a plate.
- Sear meats: Add more oil if needed. Working in batches if necessary (it will likely be necessary unless you have a griddle or extremely large wok), stir fry combined chicken, beef and pork until it is mostly cooked through. Remove to a plate.
- Add vegetables and aromatics: Again add more oil to the pan as needed. Add broccoli, carrot and bell pepper and stir fry until vegetables are almost to your desired tenderness. Add ginger and garlic and toss for 20-30 seconds.
- Finish the stir fry: Add baby corn and water chestnuts, toss for about a minute. Then add cooked meats and shrimp, along with prepared sauce. Toss everything together and cook for a minute or two to allow everything to heat up and the sauce to thicken slightly. Finally, stir in snow peas.
- Enjoy: Serve with warm rice.
Notes
- Freeze the meats: I find that partially freezing the chicken makes it much easier to slice very thinly.
- Velveting is key: I always make sure to marinate the meat before cooking. Otherwise you can end up with a very chewy stir fry.
- Prep in advance: Having all my ingredients sliced, diced, and ready to go makes the cooking process smoother and faster.
- Cook in batches: This is a big stir fry with plenty of meat. Cook in batches to make sure each piece gets cooked evenly.
- Serving suggestion: There’s a lot going on with all those meats and veggies, so I find some simple steamed rice to be the perfect accompaniment.
- Storage: This is a big recipe, so we always have leftovers. They refrigerate well for 2-3 days in a sealed container. I generally don’t recommend freezing leftover Happy Family, because the vegetables lose their texture.
- Reheating: To reheat, you can warm the leftover stir fry in a hot oiled skillet, or just pop it in the microwave.
Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 387Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 117mgSodium 1086mgCarbohydrates 18gFiber 3gSugar 5gProtein 31g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.
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