What's the philosophy behind 小炒肉?

[vellocet]

So I've been ordering waimai way too much recently because my kitchen has been out of order.  One thing I notice is that pretty much every place has some version of 小炒肉 or 农村小炒肉 on the menu.  This is some kind of meat with (bell and chili) peppers and onions, drenched in oil.  What's the idea behind the dish and why is it on every menu?  

 

It's nearer to the American Chinese food idea of "mix a bunch of unrelated ingredients up and stir fry them" instead of the "use one kind of food and make it good" idea that I love so much about real Chinese cooking.  

[EnergyReaper]

It's simple to cook. We usually think it's a famous dish of Sichuan cuisine or Hunan cuisine, and the two cuisines are popular in the majority of Chinese provinces.

[abcdefg]

Agree with @EnergyReaperabove. The thinking behind 小炒肉 or 小炒菜 or "小炒 anything" is that it's quick and easy. Doesn't require many ingredients, doesn't require much prep time or cooking time. No special equipment or techniques. Can be done by a novice cook. 

 

In original form, it is pork 肉, spring onions 葱, and peppers 辣椒。You can request it be made with beef instead, 小炒牛肉。I have seen it made with lamb 羊肉。In Yunnan, late spring and summer, 小炒香菇 is big. Sometimes made with wild mushrooms, 小炒野生菌。

 

Over time, some restaurants have tried to "fancy up" some of their 小炒 dishes, but most have left them as very basic family style 家常菜 or country style  农村。 Inexpensive to make and sell. 

 

Similar process and thinking behind 清炒 dishes. 清炒菠菜 for example, is usually just the spinach stir-fried plain, maybe with a sprinkle of salt and ground white pepper, maybe a dash of 味精，but that's all. If you want it with garlic, you specify that: 清炒菠菜加蒜泥; if you want them to add chopped scallions, you must specify that 清炒菠菜加葱花。