Stir Fry Sauce
on Jan 24, 2021, Updated Aug 21, 2024
This is the only Stir Fry Sauce recipe you will ever need! Making your own stir fry sauce at home is so easy and so much better than anything store bought.
This Stir Fry Sauce Is My Fave
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.
Why we love this stir fry sauce
- Only three ingredients
- 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 to combine
- 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 in stir fry sauce
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.“
3 Ingredient 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 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 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 desired saltiness.
How long can the sauce stay in the refrigerator? I can’t wait to make it tonight.
I am curious to know this also please.
Yes, about how long will it keep.
EASY and EXCELLENT! I added some ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes during the cook. WOW! Love this recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it!
This sauce was so good and simple.I added some minced garlic to it and also mixed the sauce in a ziplock bag instead of a jar.
This is my go-to sauce! I’ve tried others and they’re either too complex — because sometimes simple works best on a weeknight — too sweet, or just thin without a “mouthy feel.” In this I toss garlic, ginger, a splash of cooking sherry, and rice vinegar, use arrowroot instead of cornstarch, and throw sesame seeds in. Overall, it’s a beautiful base and good for veggies, noodles, and even a marinade. And I love how we’ve all made it ours with what we have on hand.
I love that! So glad you found a way to make it your own Virginia!
I very, very rarely comment on a recipe and had to with this one. I added fresh garlic, black garlic granules, and powdered ginger (I didn’t have fresh), and threw in some sesame seeds. And just. Wow.
I have finally found my go to stir-fry sauce! Most are too sweet and I grew tired of those so I haven’t made stir-fry in awhile. Thank you for bringing me back. 🙂
I am so glad you found it! Thanks for sharing!
How long will left over sauce keep in the fridge please?
Tried the sauce tonight. Added 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper (black or white; 1/4-1/2 tsp hot chili oil would also work), 1 tbsp minced garlic, and 1/2 tsp Xylitol (or sugar). Mixed it into my stir-fried ramen noodles with pork, mushrooms, & peas (didn’t have snow peas), and served. It was a hit with my 1.5 gen Asian family.
(Only one small suggestion: It would be helpful if the recipe were at the top — or if it were possible to jump from the beginning to the recipe. I had a hard time finding it, and almost gave up.)
Thank you!
So glad your family enjoyed the recipe Cindy 🙂 There is a jump to recipe button at the top of every page just fyi for the future!
Can the sesame oil be substituted with another oil?
Sesame oil is best for the flavor of stir fry sauce.
wow! I didn’t have low-sodium soya sauce, so just added a bit of water to lighten it. Added grated fresh ginger to the sauce, as well as a tbsp of brown sugar and a splash of rice wine vinegar. Really really nice with the chicken and veggies!
i am making this tonight how much garlic and ginger do you add?
Sesame oil is available in untoasted or toasted forms. If toasted sesame oil is the type used in a recipe, it should be shown in recipe ingredients as toasted sesame oil.
I have had readers comment that they are unable to find toasted sesame oil, so I recommend any form of sesame oil.