Easy Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

Are Stir Fry Vegetables Healthy

Stir-frying is a fast way to cook small pieces of food in a hot skillet or wok. In addition to being quick and easy, stir-frying is also healthy.

It results in tender-crisp vegetables that retain more nutrients than if they were boiled.

And since stir-frying requires only a small amount of oil, the fat content is low.

Other Variations Of Stir Fry

There are so many different ways to customize your veggie stir fry, the combinations are endless!

• Meat: add in some chicken, pork, shrimp, beef or tofu.
• Vegetables: asparagus, bean sprouts, celery, zucchini, cauliflower, onions or tomatoes add more of variety of vegetables.
• Nuts: almonds and cashews are great to stir in as well.
• Spicy: make it spicy by adding some heat with sriracha or crushed red pepper flakes.

How To Make Stir Fry Sauce

To a glass jar, add dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic paste, ginger paste, rice vinegar, chicken stock. Cover tightly with its lid and shake vigorously to combine.

Store in the fridge for up to 1 month or longer. Chinese stir fry sauce can be used in marinades and stir fry dishes.

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How Much Stir Fry Sauce To Use In Dishes

To make the stir fry sauce, add 2 tablespoons of the homemade sauce to a cup of water , add one tablespoon of cornflour and mix to combine. Use in dishes as desired. That said, you can add more of the stir fry sauce to the dish as desired.

It is best to start with 2 tablespoons then adjust to your preference. I personally like 3 tablespoons of stir fry sauce to cup of water.

youll love these simple stir fry recipes: shrimp stir fry, vegetable chow meinand cashew chicken recipe

Chinese Stir Fry Sauce

One of the best components of any good stir fry recipe is the sauce. Its that wow factor, which elevates the dish from delicious to exceptional!

This all-purpose stir fry sauce is something I keep in my back pocket, making weeknight dinners a synch. It takes only minutes to put together and can be used right away or kept in the fridge for later. Its perfect for protein or vegetable stir fry recipes, served with rice or over noodles.

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How To Make It

If you’ve got 2 minutes, you can make this sauce! Here’s how.

• Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, vegetable stock, and corn starch to a small bowl and whisk to combine.
• OR you can combine all of the ingredients in a container with a tight fitting lid and shake until everything is combined.

Seriously, that’s it.

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How To Make Stir Fry Sauce From Scratch

This is truly one of my favorite sauces to make. Its simply the best full of flavor from all the ingredients and I can pair it with anything. Ok, have I told you yet how dang easy it is, too? Like I said, THE BEST.

You can either whisk together the ingredients in a bowl or add them all to a jar and shake, shake, shake. If you know me, then you know Ive turned into the kind of adult who likes to reduce the number of dishes I have to do, and one-pan dinners have become my BFF so the jar method is used frequently around here.

Either way, add the aromatics along with the sugar or honey, pour in the vegetable stock, add the soy sauce, and then the corn starch. Whisk or shake them together until its completely combined. Then, you can use it immediately or store it in the fridge for later use .

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How To Use This Sauce

Cook your stir fry ingredients until mostly done, and then pour in the sauce. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute so that it heats up. If youd like to thicken the sauce and help it stick to the stir fry ingredients , you will need to use cornstarch. In a small bowl, stir 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons cold water. When the sauce is simmering in the pan, slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture and cook, stirring well, until the sauce thickens and coats the stir fry.

Ingredients For Stir Fry Sauce:

• Soy Sauce Adds a savory umami flavor. Since it is the base of the sauce be sure to use a good quality soy sauce.
• Water This stretches the sauce.
• Brown Sugar Brown sugar adds depth of flavor and a little sweetness to the dish. Feel free to adapt the amount to your liking.
• Garlic This adds so much flavor. Fresh pressed garlic is best.
• Corn Starch Corn starch is a thickening agent. When mixed with water or a sauce and then cooked, it makes a liquid more viscous which helps sauce cling whatever is in it.
• Red Pepper Flakes These carry flavor as well as heat. Add more or less to your liking.

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Easy Vegetable Stir Fry Noodles

Making vegetable stir fry noodles is so easy! Theyre ready in under 30 minutes for the perfect weeknight dinner. Theyre made with a homemade stir fry sauce, are vegetarian and vegan, and are completely customizable.

Gather round, my friend. Weve got another favorite vegetarian dinner recipe thats easy, quick to make, and completely customizable yes, its one of those clean-out-the-veggie-drawer kinds of magic meals.

Its another made with homemade stir fry sauce, that can easily be meal-prepped to make weeknight dinners even faster. Thats what I call a winning recipe what do you think?! Lets get to cookin!

Is Stir Fry Healthy Or Not

It really depends on the ingredients. Many stir fry recipes are loaded with salt and sugar. To make a stir fry healthier, load up on a variety of vegetables and make your own stir fry sauce so that you can control the ingredients you add to it.

Here are some healthier tips.

• If you want to use less salt, avoid soy sauce which tends to be high in sodium. Instead, choose coconut aminos in replacement. This sauce is made from the coconut palm and is completely soy-free. This is my personal go-to choice in our home. You can get it here.
• Avoiding corn? Arrowroot powder is a great alternative to cornstarch for thickening your sauces. You can use this in a 1:1 ratio. You can also use tapioca starch in a 1:2 ratio .
• Using less sugar some of these stir fry sauce recipes use sweetener including honey, coconut sugar or maple syrup. You can use less sugar, or none at all if thats what you prefer. Sugar-free alternatives include stevia or xylitol.

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Stir Fry Sauce Variations

With just a few swaps, you can easily make this sauce fit your dietary needs and it will still taste AMAZING!

Vegan: Use vegetable broth and agave nectar!

Spicy: Add red pepper flakes .

Keto: Swap corn starch for tapioca flour or arrowroot, and monk fruit sweetener, or click here for my Keto Stir Fry Sauce recipe!

Gluten-Free: Use tamari instead of soy sauce.

Vegetarian: Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth!

How To Make Stir Fry

Now that you have your stir fry sauce ready, how do you use it to make a delicious stir fry? The key is to use the right ratio of sauce to protein to vegetables. This recipe makes one cup of sauce, which is the perfect amount to add to one pound of protein plus six cups of vegetables. This will serve four people. If you want to serve your stir fry over rice, youll need four cups of cooked rice.

To make a stir fry:

How long does stir fry sauce last?

You can keep this sauce in your refrigerator for up to one week, stored in an airtight container. I keep mine in a jar with a lid.

Is this recipe vegetarian?

You can make this recipe vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. For a vegan stir fry sauce, also replace the honey with pure maple syrup.

Is this recipe gluten-free?

You can make this stir fry sauce recipe gluten-free by replacing the soy sauce with gluten-free tamari, gluten-free coconut aminos or gluten-free soy sauce.

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What Is The Best Kind Of Pan To Use

Id be amiss to not recommend that you use a wok if you have one, but you dont need one to be successful with this recipe. Using a wok gives the veggies and protein enough room to cook evenly.

If you dont have one, no problem, just use a large skillet with sides. I like my 12-inch cast-iron skillet because it gives a lot of room for the veggies and shrimp to cook while maintaining even heat.

What Is Stir Fry Sauce Made Of

Every stir fry sauce is different but most contain similar ingredients. Our Easy Stir Fry Sauce recipe includes Thai sweet chili sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce , honey, apple cider vinegar, garlic, and corn starch.

Ingredient notes:

Thai Sweet Chili Sauce is an essential ingredient in this recipe and adds a layer of flavor that would be so very missed without. You can find it in just about any grocery store in the International foods aisle, typically in the same section as soy sauce and hoisin sauce.

Hoisin sauce: Hoisin is often used in Cantonese cuisine as a glaze for a variety of meats or for dipping. It lends itself perfectly to a stir fry sauce and again, can be found in the International foods aisle of your grocery store.

Soy Sauce: You can use regular soy sauce or lite soy sauce depending on your preference.

Corn Starch: This is used as a thickening agent

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Stir Fry Sauce Recipe Tips And Tricks:

• Preping The Sauce: These sauce recipes are relatively easy to prepare. Ive included as many substitutions as I could think of to make things easier for you. Just scroll to the bottom of this post for the full recipes.
• Storage Tips: I like to dump all my ingredients into a small mason jar, seal the lid and give it a shake. Then I just pour it overtop of the stir fry. If you have extra sauce, it can easily be popped in the fridge for another meal. You can store these sauces in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Culinary Tips For The Best Healthy Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

Be sure to use cold water to mix the sauce together. Hot water will cause the cornstarch to clump.

Want to make a large quantity of healthy homemade stir fry sauce? Double all ingredients except for the ginger. Increasing spices too much can cause them to taste bitter. After doubling, add more ginger to taste.

Use fresh garlic over pre-chopped. It makes a huge flavor difference!

For finely minced garlic, consider using a microplane. This creates very small pieces of garlic that will distribute evenly in your recipe. A microplane is also helpful if using fresh ginger. You could even use it to zest a small lime for an extra pop of brightness!

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Ingredient Stir Fry Sauce

Want to make a simple stir fry sauce with only three ingredients? Try 1/3 cup soy sauce , 1 Tbsp cornstarch, and 1-2 Tbsp honey. Mix the soy sauce and cornstarch in a bowl first, then add the honey and mix together. Follow the stir fry instructions above and add this sauce in the last few minutes of cooking.

Tips For Recipe Success

Here are a few important key tips for making the best shrimp and veggie stir fry.

• Dont overcook the shrimp! Be sure to partially cook them the first time to make this easy, just turn one side pink.
• Cut the vegetables into evenly sized pieces. This ensures even cooking and makes eating easier.
• Prep the veggies in advance. Make sure the veggies are prepped before you start cooking because it will go quickly once you start. This also means you should make the sauce ahead of time, too. With everything ready, the recipe is quick, quick, quick!
• Use a large pan or wok. This gives the veggies room to cook evenly and allows for proper caramelization. If your pan is too small, theyll steam instead.

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How To Make Chicken Stir Fry:

Time needed: 30 minutes.

How To Use Stir Fry Sauce

*Dont miss the complete printable sauce recipe below.

This recipe makes about 1 1/4 cups of sauce and is the perfect amount for a complete stir fry where everything gets coated, but the meats and veggies arent swimming in it. If you want more sauce, you can always add a bit more water or chicken broth.

Stir fry can be made up of just about any meats and/or vegetables, swapping them out every time to keep the flavors new and interesting. We love onion, broccoli, snap peas, bell pepper, carrots, water chestnuts, and scallions.

A good rule of thumb is 1 pound of protein and 6 cups of chopped vegetables to feed 4 people. We always serve stir fry over cooked white rice or noodles, which stretches it even further or provides leftovers the next day.

To use stir fry sauce to make stir fry:

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How To Cook Stir Fry And When To Add Stir Fry Sauce To Pan:

Cooking stir fry is so easy. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a wok or skillet. When hot, add garlic and/or ginger and sauté for just about 30 seconds. Add in the chicken and season to taste. Once cooked, remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Heat an additional tablespoon of oil and add your preferred veggies. I like to use carrots, broccoli, red bell pepper, and sugar snap peas. Sauté the veggies until theyre crisp tender, then return the chicken to the pan. When everything is nearly cooked, give your stir fry sauce a quick stir before pouring it into the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for just a few minutes. Serve this stir fry over rice , cauliflower rice, or chow mien. Additionally, our Chinese Fried Rice would also be delicious!

Looking for other stir fry options? Try our Kielbasa and Cauliflower Stir Fry, this Cumin Beef Stir Fry, or this Sweet N Spicy Shrimp Stir-Fry with chow mien noodles.

I hope you enjoy this recipe for Easy Stir Fry Sauce. It is so easy to make, and so flavorful. As always, if you try this recipe , please let us know what you think and feel free to share photos on social media with us.

Enjoy!

How To Make 3 Ingredient Stir Fry Sauce

A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.

STEP ONE: Place your cornstarch in a bowl or mason jar and add some cold water. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.

STEP TWO: Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and any other seasonings and whisk until combined. If youre using a mason jar, simply close the lid and shake until well combined.

STEP THREE: Refrigerate your 3 ingredient stir fry sauce in an airtight container until youre ready to use. Make sure to shake thoroughly before adding to your stir fry recipes!

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Stir Fry Substitution Ingredients

• Stir Fry Sauce Without Cornstarch Cornstarch is typically used as a thickener for sauces. If you dont want your sauce to be thick, you can skip it all together. If you want a thicker sauce without the cornstarch, try using arrowroot powder or tapioca starch.
• Stir Fry Sauce Without Soy Sauce You can substitute soy sauce for coconut aminos. This is made from fermented sap of the coconut palm. Its a salty, savoury sauce that works well in replacement.
• Stir Fry Sauce With Kikkoman Soy Sauce Kikkoman soy sauce will work great in any of these stir fry sauce recipes. Just scroll down to the bottom of this page for the full recipe list.