Stir Fry Sauce
Updated Mar 07, 2026
This is the only Stir Fry Sauce recipe you will ever need! It’s quick and easy to make with only 3 ingredients.
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.
That is what led me to developing what I consider to be the perfect stir fry sauce that you can use as a base for just about any recipe.
Why we love this recipe
- 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.
“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
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 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.“
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.
I’m cooking for two. Does the sauce store well in the fridge?
I was wondering the same
Yes, can be stored in the fridge.
How many tablespoons do you put in the stir fry?
Yes how much do you add to the stir fry please
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.
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!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for sharing Geri!
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.
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!
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.
Rule of thumb with ginger and garlic is to add equal quantities of both.
Can you use regular soy sauce? What’s the different if I were to use regular vs gluten free flavor wise?
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!
I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe, thanks for sharing!
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.
This sauce makes enough to cover 6 servings at least, if not more.
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.
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.
Maybe try not cooking your veggies so long. The overdone veggies will absorb the dark color. Good luck
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!!
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!
I love that you made it your own! Thanks for sharing Sherri!
How much oyster sauce do you use?