Making your own stir fry sauce is so easy. This recipe is perfect for making delicious oriental inspired dinners at home. This recipe is only 3 ingredients and so much better than any store bought stir fry sauce!
The key to the best ever stir fry is in the sauce recipe.
I have tried endless store bought sauces, and none of them ever tasted good enough to get that takeout taste that I was craving.
What I discovered was that all of those sauces were far too watered down.
Stir Fry Sauce with 3 Ingredients
By mixing three basic sauce ingredients together, this highly concentrated stir fry sauce was born.
All you need for bold flavor is soy sauce, sesame oil, and corn starch.
Full amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card, but keep reading this post for important tips and tricks.
How do you make stir fry sauce from scratch?
Making stir fry sauce from scratch is as simple as adding the corn starch, sesame oil, and soy sauce to a jar.
Close the lid, and shake to combine and you are done!
If you do not have a mason jar, simply whisk the ingredients together in a bowl.
This sauce does not mess around.
It is bold, so flavorful, and a little bit goes a long way.
If you make the whole batch, it will be enough to flavor 6 – 8 generous servings of food.
What is stir fry sauce used for?
You can use stir fry sauce for just about anything, but commonly used best vegetables for stir fry include
- Mushrooms
- Carrots
- Sugar snap peas
- Broccoli
- White or yellow onion
- Bell peppers, any color
- Green onion
- Water chestnuts
- Baby corn
What should I put in my stir fry?
The classic flavors of this sauce go with any kind of stir fry recipe.
Truly, the possibilities are endless!
Choose your protein (beef, chicken, tofu, chickpeas, tempeh, etc), and choose whatever your favorite stir fry vegetables are.
You can use this sauce to make any kind of stir fry recipe.
I often make the sauce before I start cooking my stir fry, so that is ready to go when I need it.
You can either cook your ingredients in this sauce, or add it at the end of cook time.
If you are unsure of how much to use, I recommend cooking your ingredients first in sesame oil, then adding this sauce to taste in the last 3-5 minutes of cook time.
Start with a few tablespoons and add from there.
Again, this is a very concentrated 3 ingredient sauce, and a little bit will go a long way!
What can I add to stir fry for flavor?
I have one recommendation, and that is to always use this together with fresh garlic and fresh ginger.
Do not skip this step.
These are not a part of the sauce, but they are part of the full recipe that 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!
How to 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.
Most sauce recipes use a corn starch slurry to thicken them.
Instead of that, we are simply mixing it with the other ingredients and once well shaken it will thicken the same way.
I have tested this easy recipe time and time again and it is always incredibly delicious.
“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!”
“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.”
“This recipe seemed to be too easy, but it works better than more complicated recipes. This will be my go to.“
More Stir Fry recipes
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3 Ingredient Stir Fry Sauce Recipe
Making your own stir fry sauce is so easy! This delicious sauce recipe is just 3 ingredients and comes together in seconds. Perfect for making flavorful stir fries at home.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari
- ¼ cup sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Add soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch to a mason jar. Screw on the lid and shake to combine
- 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.
- Once your stir fry is mostly cooked, add the stir fry sauce and heat an additional 3 - 5 minutes, or until sauce thickens. This is important, as the corn starch needs a few minutes to thicken up.
- READ THIS RECIPE NOTE - this is intended to cover around 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! If you are making a small stir fry, start by adding a few tablespoons of sauce at a time until desired saltiness.
Notes
To make this recipe gluten free, use gluten free soy sauce or tamari.
To see examples of how much food this sauce will cover, check out several of my recipes using this sauce. Cabbage Stir Fry, Stir Fry Vegetables, Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 66Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 131mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
Sylvia V
Tuesday 9th of August 2022
I was skeptical that 3 ingredients could be flavorful enough. This sauce is perfect. I’m out of soy sauce and used coconut amino’s instead. I sautéed red onion, minced garlic, and minced ginger. Then added frozen stir fry veggies and cooked it on low until they defrosted. I turned up the heat to cook off some of the melted water from the veggies and then stirred in this amazing sauce for only a few minutes before removing from heat. I paired it with baked marinated tofu and seasoned jasmine rice. Thank you for the simple sauce recipe. Truly!
Saura
Sunday 10th of July 2022
Actually I was worried with the amount of sesame oil I said what the heck and followed the recipe. I added sugar garlic powder, white pepper, ginger powder and a bit of hoisin sauce ( No exact measurement just dropped and taste method) It was perfect. This is one of those things you can play around with. I will be using this recipe from now on.
Terry C
Friday 18th of February 2022
I added the fresh ginger and garlic to the sauce. It sounds like I wasn’t supposed to but that’s the impression I got from your comment about adding it to for more flavor. So since I did that must I keep it in the refrigerator or will it still be OK in the cupboard even though there is fresh ginger and fresh garlic in the mix? Thank you, Looking forward to making this tonight.
Judy
Monday 11th of April 2022
@Joy Shull, Joy I think your right on regarding the refrigeration.
Joy Shull
Tuesday 1st of March 2022
I would refrigerate it if you are adding the garlic and ginger to it.
Beverly
Thursday 17th of February 2022
Saved the day! I changed it up a little, added some brown sugar, and my ginger and garlic I sauteed w the sesame oil, just till fragrant, then added soy sauce, and corn starch..with just a tad bit brown sugar! It came out perfect! I was so stumped on how to make the stir fry sauce, you saved my day, and dinner!
Jan Smith
Sunday 30th of January 2022
My husband hates stir fry so I usually just make my own in an 8" wok. He smelt it, he tasted it and in the last 7 days we have had 3 yes three stir fry. He absolutely cannot get enough. Thank you so much for sharing. Jan xx
Joy Shull
Monday 31st of January 2022
I love it! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for leaving a comment!