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Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

The best homemade stir fry sauce recipe. Make tasty takeout style Chinese food at home in your own kitchen!

stir fry sauce in a mason jar

The key to the best ever stir fry is in the stir fry sauce recipe.

I love takeout Chinese food, but it bothered me to no end that I could not figure out how to make my own stir fry recipes as equally delicious.

cornstarch, soy sauce, and sesame oil

This easy stir fry sauce recipe was born out of years of searching for something delicious.

I had tried endless store bought teriyaki sauces and stir fry sauces, and none of them ever tasted good enough to that takeout taste that I was craving.

Every time I would be excited to find another one to try, only to wish I had just ordered takeout instead.

Store bought sauces were always missing that extra punch of flavor.

mason jar with shaken up stir fry sauce in it

I knew there had to be a way to make a simple and easy stir fry sauce recipe that

1) wasn’t time consuming and

2) didn’t require any crazy out there ingredients.

I wanted a recipe that was foolproof, and easy enough to make frequently.

Here is the recipe that I finally came up with, after much trial and error.

a bowl of stir fry vegetables over white rice

Ingredients to make homemade stir fry sauce

  1. Soy Sauce
  2. Sesame Oil
  3. Cornstarch (to thicken)

Full ingredient amounts and instructions/tips located in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. 

skillet full of vegetable stir fry

THAT IS IT.

Life. Changing.

(Ingredients and amounts are at the bottom of this post in a handy printable recipe card!)

step by step photos of making the stir fry sauce

I have one recommendation, and that is to always use this together with fresh garlic and fresh ginger.

minced garlic, sliced onion, and minced ginger

Do not skip this.

broccoli in stir fry sauce

These are not a part of the sauce, but they are part of the stir fry you will make.

I have found this to be the best way to bring out all of those flavors and I highly recommend doing this.

If you skip this step and tell me that the recipe is bland, it is because you did not add the garlic and ginger!

skillet filled with mushrooms, carrots, green onions, bell peppers, garlic, and ginger

Otherwise, the possibilities are endless!

Any veggie or protein, you name it.

Just add what sounds good, throw in fresh ginger and garlic, then pour in this sauce and you’re golden.

stir fry noodles, tofu, and vegetables in a skillet coated in stir fry sauce

Proteins that would work with this stir fry sauce

  • chicken
  • beef
  • tofu
  • chickpeas

No matter if you are a meat eater, vegan, or a vegetarian, this stir fry sauce is adaptable to fit your needs!

Stir fry vegetables recipe cooked in stir fry sauce

How do you thicken stir fry sauce?

Cornstarch acts as an easy thickener in this stir fry sauce recipe.

It is is a great way to thicken sauces when you want a quick recipe.

There is no need to cook out a raw flour flavor like you would when cooking with a roux.

I have tested this easy stir fry sauce time and time again and it is always incredibly delicious.

broccoli with garlic sauce over white rice in a bowl

The best part is that you can make it in 60 seconds!

Just add your soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch to a mason jar and shake to combine.

asian mushroom ramen noodles cooked in stir fry sauce

I’m a rather impatient cook, and the easier the better when I am trying to get dinner on the table in a hurry!

I love that I can make this sauce so very quickly and throw it in the skillet.

the easiest stir fry sauce recipe

You just can’t beat adding 3 ingredients to a jar, shaking it, and pouring it in.

I mean, it’s almost TOO easy.

The possibilities are endless.

cabbage stir fry ramen noodles

Stir fry sauce reviews

Here are just some of the reviews raving about this recipe.

If you don’t believe me, just scroll past the recipe at the bottom to read more reviews!

“I usually do not leave comments on anything but after trying numerous homemade recipes and store bought sauces I have to say this one was the best.

I was very surprised since it was almost too easy. I did add a little honey. Thank you so much. My search is over.” – Denise

Ramen noodle stir fry with golden oak shitake mushrooms, sugar snap peas, green bell pepper, carrots, green onions, and fresh garlic and ginger.

“I love to cook and have been focusing on finding healthy recipes to feed my whole family, from the toddler, to the tween, to the husband.

I wanted to make a stir fry with veggies and chicken breast, but I needed a good sauce.

I tried this and was amazed by how simple and delicious it was – the whole family approved, which is a miracle.

I’m guilty of not leaving feedback when I try a recipe online, but this one was so easy to make (I actually had all the ingredients on hand) and so spot on – not too salty or overpowering like some sauces I have tried in the past.

I am saving this recipe and I will use it in so many different ways in the future. Thank you for sharing!” – Laylay

tofu and broccoli stir fry over white rice

“This is a bachelor’s dream. I got on google and searched for “a simple stir fry sauce” and this was one of the choices. I love stir fries and this is perfect.” – Michael

chinese broccoli in garlic sauce over rice

Stir Fry Recipes You Will Love

Are you making this recipe? I want to see! Don’t forget to tag me on instagram @buildyourbite and hashtag #buildyourbite with your recipe creations!

Be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow Build Your Bite on Pinterest for all the latest delicious recipes!

 

image with text "3 ingredient the best ever stir fry sauce"

Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a star rating below!

Best Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

Yield: 6 - 8 servings concentrated

Stir Fry Sauce

cabbage stir fry being pulled from a pan with tongs

Easy and delicious homemade stir fry sauce recipe made with soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Use this delicious recipe with fresh ginger and minced garlic for the perfect stir fry base!

Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 7 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons gluten free reduced sodium soy sauce (or tamari)
  • 1/4 cup sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to a mason jar. Screw on the lid and shake to combine
  2. Be sure to use this stir fry sauce with fresh minced garlic and fresh minced ginger in your stir fry (cooked with your vegetables/protein), as stated in the post. This is what will give it the "wow" factor. 
  3. Once your stir fry is mostly cooked, add sauce and heat an additional 3 - 5 minutes, or until sauce thickens. Serve immediately
  4. READ THIS RECIPE NOTE - this is intended to cover 6-8 servings of stir fry, served over UNSALTED rice or noodles. Otherwise it will be too salty. It is a highly concentrated sauce. A little goes a long way!

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 88Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 292mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g

Did you make this recipe?

Be sure to tag me on instagram @buildyourbite and hashtag #buildyourbite with your recipe creations!

© Joy Shull
Cuisine: sauce / Category: Dinner

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. My Moor says

    Excellent stir fry sauce, put it squirt bottle and stored in fridge. … 2 chicken thighs, debone, cut in strips, marinated w/ little soy and cornstarch ovenight.
    Used a wok, saute chicken … add minced garlic and minced ginger … 1 white onion, diced … saute … added cut up … julienne carrots, green beans, zucchini – yellow and green, baby asparagus … stir .. added Sauce … added more minced garlic and ginger. Taste if need more Sauce. So easy and tasty .. Serve over brown rice. Yummy and healthy. Oh yes, sprinkled little brown sugar while cooking.
    thank you for sharing your Sauce.

    Reply

  3. Karen M. says

    Many thanks! This was an easy sauce and it worked out beautifully. Per our family’s tastes, I decreased the sesame oil just slightly.

    Reply

  5. Cohoma says

    This recipe seemed to be too easy,but it works better than more complicated recipes. This will be my go to stir fry sauce. I’m a heat lover so I added some crushed pepper to kick it up a notch. You can easily tweak it to suit your individual tastes. Highly recommend this recipe!

    Reply

    • diane stovall says

      Will try this tonight with thinly sliced chicken, bred bell pepper broccoli
      and over cauliflower rice

      Reply

  6. Quinn says

    This sauce was wonderful! And super easy, which is great since I’m a student and still learning how to cook. This will become a staple for me, for sure!

    Reply

  7. Cheri Castilleja says

    I Made this recipe tonight I doubled the sauce and it was perfect my daughter likes spicy food so I added crushed red pepper and she couldn’t say enough about it I served it with jasmine rice thank you so much for this recipe I will definitely be making it again! Cheri Castilleja

    Reply

  8. Debi Hebner says

    Hey Joy,
    How long will this sauce last in the fridge? I love making stir fry and this would be simple and quick to make
    I’m going to make it tonight to use on my chicken stir fry. Please get back to me as soon as you can. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

    Reply

    • Joy Shull says

      Hi Debi,

      I have not tried it in the fridge as this makes just a small amount. If anyone has made extra to keep in the fridge please comment! I usually just make a batch every time I whip up a stir fry! This is the perfect amount for a 6-8 serving stir fry served with unsalted rice/noodles.

      Reply

  10. Linda Muse says

    I LOVED this recipe! I went ahead and put in a bit of the minced ginger into the sauce because I’d minced too much for my stir fry. This will become my go-to recipe for stir fries. I think it’s the sesame oil that really makes it different from all the others.

    Reply

  11. Roses says

    This is a great sauce, I used it tonight to stir fry veggies. The taste is new and very delicious. I love it.

    Reply

  12. Helen says

    Came upon this recipe when searching for a stir fry sauce.
    Looked in my cupboard for the store bought sauce and didn’t have any and was hankering for stir fry. After trying your recipe I will never buy store brands again. My husband loved the flavors. We will eat stir fry’s more often now and can hardly wait to try your recipe on my vegan and non vegan family. Thank you thank you. I made one adjustment. I added 1 Tablespoon of pure maple syrup to offset some of the saltiness. Amazing.

    Reply

  14. Trish Newton says

    OMG Joy! I have been searching for the true stir fry sauce” for everything “ and this is it! Made shrimp broccoli and mushroom stir fry tonight and and I’m still licking up the sauce from the pan! only thing I added was a tiny tiny bit of Hoisin for sweetness at the end. I love that you can do anything you want. My new keeper. Thanks!

    Reply

  15. Michael says

    I like to eat stir-fries food. With your sauce recipe, my stir-fries are better. I love it. Thanks you!

    Reply

  16. Anita says

    Used this sauce to make Broccoli with garlic sauce. Was so salty had to dilute it with 1/2 c. water thickened with more cornstarch to be able to eat it. Did not serve over rice, so that was not a source of salt.

    Reply

    • Joy Shull says

      The recipe states that the broccoli with garlic sauce is to be eaten over unsalted white rice for even salty distribution. Alone would definitely be too salty. It is intended to be served over an unsalted grain or noodle as it is a highly concentrated sauce.

      Reply

  17. Becky says

    I struggle with lo me in noodles, trying to find the right one! The noodle you have pictured looks awesome. What brand is that.
    Thank you

    Reply

  20. Beverley says

    Hi. Thank you for this. I haven’t made it yet but I know it will be good. Something I learned from a Chinese chef on television years ago is this: use tapioca starch instead of corn starch. It thickens the same but makes for a less opaque coating on everything. I’ve had some on hand now for decades! Enjoy.

    Reply

    • kathryn says

      This might be a life changer for me if this works to thicken a donair sauce I want to make. My nearby city shop has my favorite sauce but compared to any recipes I can find, the recipes use sweetened condensed milk and that doesn’t make the sauce i like. Its a sweet garlic sauce but the —–whats the word, is almost clear as opposed to creamy. I tried just water, vinegar, sugar and garlic powder thickened with corn starch and yes! It had this opaque —– whats the word, that was not what I was going for. Would tapioca starch or even instant tapioca (which I have on hand)achieve what I am looking for? Kind of like the red sauce you get at a Chinese restaurant?

      Reply

    • Barb says

      To me it is the difference between v8 juice and regular season tomato juice. You can but you won’t like it near as much. Sesame oil really strong and I love it. I only need a little bit usually cause so strong. Costlier than at of corn oil but it is the spice of the dish and I do use less. Try it.

      Reply

  24. Rita says

    I tried this tonight and I’m in love with it. I used honey sesame sauce with the low sodium soy sauce. I didnt have fresh ginger so I used the powdered kind. I will make this over and over again. Thank you.

    Reply

  25. Pam says

    I NEVER post on anything but I have tried this stir fry sauce and it IS the absolute BEST sauce!!!! Give it a try you will NOT be disappointed!

    Reply

      • Judy says

        Looks to me that you’re to use the entire jar as per her recipe. When I use this I’ll probably make a double or triple batch since you want enough to coat your chicken and veggies but also the rice when serving.

        Reply

  28. Geri says

    This is a great sauce, I used it tonight to stir fry veggies, I added a bit of chili garlic sauce for some kick, awesome. Used it again for chow mein, thinned it with veggie broth, again delicious. I will not be losing this base recipe. Thank you!

    Reply

      • Karen says

        Just made this tonight! Very easy & very good. Added it to my stir fry WITH fresh garlic & ginger as you commanded! LOL
        However, I had no idea how much ginger to add. In a stir fry for only 2 people…how much? I only added 1/2 tsp & 2 minced garlic cloves. I think it needed more ginger but not sure.

        Reply

        • Joy Shull says

          It’s hard to say how much to add, I would probably do at least a few teaspoons or 2 tablespoons if you love ginger like I do! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Karen!

          Reply

          • jenni, h says

            it depends on your palate, some may or may not like ginger, you can however much you like, but i would taste the sauce prior to adding it, just so you adjust it if needed.

            Reply

    • Christina says

      Can you use regular soy sauce? What’s the different if I were to use regular vs gluten free flavor wise?

      Reply

  29. Crystal says

    I found this recipe one day that I realized I had planned stir fry for dinner but didn’t have any of my usual store bought sauce. I could not believe how easy it was and my family all liked it better. I have made it many times since then. Thanks so much!

    Reply

  30. Linda says

    It tastes great . But how much is a serving size? I made a big bowl a stir-fry vegetables and use all of the sauce. But I felt like I had too much sodium cuz my heart pounded all night.

    Reply

  31. Fredda says

    Convenient and simple. Used it in a recipe but planning to make a jar of it to keep on hand as it makes a perfect base for other sauces including stir fry sauce.

    Reply

  32. Betty says

    Love the flavor. Only thing was it was so black in colour it didn’t look very appealing. Couldn’t see tge nice colours of the vegetables. Must be doing something wrong.

    Reply

  33. Mary Dodds says

    I have used this recipe many times but use veggie broth or water instead of oil. Also do not use oil to cook veggies and use the lowest sodium soy sauce I can find. Comes out great everytime! Thank you!!

    Reply

  34. Sherri Bailey says

    I have tried this several times always better than any bottles sauce! Versatile and easy to customize, I believe I hit on the perfect flavor profile tonight though! I did my flavoring in 3 parts…
    Part 1.Cook your veggies til almost crisp then remove to bowl. Add your meat and additional oil if needed along with part one of “flavor) mince fresh ginger ( I used a piece about 1 1/2” long and the width of my pinkie fingertip) mince 3 cloves garlic , mince stems only (leaves come later) of 10-12 sprigs of fresh cilantro and the white portion of 2 green onions minced. Part 2 Add vegetables back into pan. Shake sauce and add to pan ( sauce is the original recipe + 1/4 cup orange juice, 1 Tbsp brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon Tones brand 6 pepper seasoning blend) stir fry til sauce starts to thicken. Part 3 Just before removing from heat add chopped leaves from the cilantro stems used in step one, green portion of the green onions. Stir to combine just long enough for the leaves to start wilting. Serve with rice and top with a drizzle of sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. Your house will smell great and your tummy will thank you! And I thank you build your bite for The Absolute Hands Down best base stir fry sauce recipe ever!

    Reply

  36. Cathy says

    I have seriously tried every stirfry sauce out there and this was the absolute best. I think it’s the sesame seed oil that makes it so good. The soy sauce doesn’t have a real strong feeling. This is my go to from now on.

    Reply

  37. Jill K Carboni says

    I made this sauce last night, at the last minute, and WOW! I am so happy I found this recipe! It is incredible! I’m not the best recipe- follower, but this is so easy and so good. Thank You

    Reply

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