Instructions: 1. Slice beef thin against the grain.

2. In one cup, combine oyster sauce, salt, sugar, pepper and stock. In another, blend cornstarch, soy sauce and water to a paste.

3. Heat oil. Add beef and stir-fry until it loses its redness (about 2 minutes).

4. Stir in oyster sauce mixture and heat quickly. Cook, covered, 1 minute over medium heat.

5. Stir in cornstarch paste to thicken. Serve at once. VARIATIONS:

In step 2, add to the oyster sauce mixture 3 scallion tops, cut in 1-inch sections.

In step 2, omit the stock from the oyster sauce mixture. Add instead: 3 tablespoons sherry, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 to 2 slices fresh ginger root, minced. In step 4, stir this mixture in well. Then add the stock and cook, covered, 1 to 2 minutes. Pick up step 5, but omit soy sauce from the cornstarch paste.

In step 3, before adding the beef, add 1 garlic clove, crushed; and 1 small onion, sliced thin. Stir-fry until onion is translucent.

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