The cover story in this week’s food section discusses the advantages and disadvantages of storing your recipes online. One of the advantages, it says, is protection against food stains.

But flipping through cookbooks in search of the most stained recipes is one of the most reliable ways I can think of to find the recipes my parents used most often while I was growing up. The more stains on the page, the more beloved the recipe was.

One example, my dad’s go-to recipe for stir-fried beef, from a 1975 edition of ”The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook” by Gloria Bley Miller. Check it out:

My dad used this recipe as a basis for most of the beef stir-fries he made while I was growing up, referring to the book for the oyster sauce and adding whatever other ingredients sounded good — onions, broccoli, etc.

Here is the recipe that’s just above those spatters: 

Stir-Fried Beef and Oyster Sauce II
Makes about 4 servings

1/2 pound beef
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup scallion stalks
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/4 cup stock

Slice beef thin against the grain. Combine cornstarch, soy sauce, salt and sugar. Add beef and toss to coat.
Blend remaining cornstarch and cold water to a paste. Cut scallions in 1-inch sections.
Heat oil. Add scallions and stir-fry until translucent. Add beef and stir-fry until it loses its redness. Add oyster sauce and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes more.
Stir in stock and heat quickly. Cook, covered, 1 to 2 minutes over medium heat. Stir in cornstarch paste to thicken. Serve at once.

Which recipe or cookbook in your kitchen has the most food stains and splatters?