Stir Fry Sauce
on Jan 24, 2021, Updated Mar 05, 2025
This is the only Stir Fry Sauce recipe you will ever need! Making your own stir fry sauce at home is so easy and tastes just as good as your favorite takeout.
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.
“Made this, served it over rice. My sister is still bragging to anyone who will listen, about the stir fry her sister made. our friend said it was the most flavorful stir fry she ever tasted. Thanks for the recipe.” -Rose
Why we love this stir fry sauce
- Only three ingredients: this recipe comes together in no time!
- Highly Concentrated: a little bit of this sauce goes a long way.
- Pairs well with any kind of stir fry: Stir fry veggies, ramen noodles, chicken, tofu, pork, you name it. This sauce pairs beautifully with any kind of stir fry recipe.
How to make stir fry sauce
- Add the corn starch, sesame oil, and soy sauce to a mason jar.
- Close the lid, and shake it all up until it is combined.
- Add the stir fry sauce to your stir fry to taste in the last 5 minutes of cook time.
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 stir fry?
- Vegetables: our go to vegetables include onion, garlic, ginger, brococli, mushrooms and bell pepper
- Protein: beef, chicken, tofu, chickpeas, tempeh
- Noodles or rice: white rice, brown rice, ramen noodles, brown rice noodles, pad thai noodles
Joy’s Tips
- Make the sauce first: Prepping this ahead makes it easier to add as you need it when making your stir fry. You can either cook your ingredients in this sauce, or add it at the end of cook time.
- Add a little bit at a time: If you are unsure of how much sauce 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 to taste.
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!
Corn starch
Corn starch 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.
“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!”
“This recipe seemed to be too easy, but it works better than more complicated recipes. This will be my go to.“
Stir Fry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch to a mason jar. Screw on the lid and shake it all up 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 for an additional 3 – 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and coats the stir fry ingredients. 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 you reach your desired taste.
It’s amazing!!! Hands down the best stir fry sauce ever and it’s so easy to make!
It tastes like it and from the Chinese restaurant!!!
Added a tablespoon of hoisin and a few shakes of red pepper flakes. D’lish!
My daughter thought it taste like the restaurant!! Good recipe
so glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve made 2 versions of this sauce—one just as is and one using hot chili-oil sesame oil, for a spicy variety. They keep in the cupboard—not in the fridge, because there’s no perishable ingredient—for months. Just shake really well before using, as the cornstarch does settle out.
When making the sauce, can you just incorporate the garlic and ginger, at that time?
Yes, as long as you cook the ginger/garlic for a few minutes once added so that it is not raw. I usually add my garlic and ginger to the other stir fry ingredients while they cook.
How much garlic and ginger do I need
It depends on how much stir fry you are making. Anywhere from 1 teaspoon each to 1/4 cup each it will depend on the quantity of food you are cooking with.
If you can find Shoyu soy (Hawaiian soy) sometimes sold in Costco – it is way less salty. I make Teriyaki chicken with it. Much less sodium than other brands.
@Kris, You can get Shoyu on Amazon, I get it there. All I ever used when we lived in Hawaii.
If I am making the cabbage stirfry recipe this is going to serve 8 to 10 servings, but the stirfry sauce is 6 to 8 serving concentrated am I supposed to adjust the stirfry sauce to the cabbage stirfry? Or will this be enough sauce?
The sauce is perfect for this recipe! One batch is just right.
I make this and I love it.I save money not buying a pack of premade stuff and it’s really good.Thanks for sharing!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I made this recipe and used it with 1 and 3/4 bags of fresh stir fry vegetables. I looked and looked all over and never was able to find out how much fresh ginger and fresh garlic to use. I must have looked for it five times! So, I just guessed. I have to be really conservative, because my hubs doesn’t like a lot of garlic. My husband really liked it.