My Swiss Army Knife Of Stir Fry Sauces
Restaurant Secret: you know when you go to a packed Asian restaurant or take out during lunch hour and youre handed a plate of fresh-out-of-the-wok stir fry 5 minutes after ordering? I hate to disappoint you, but the cooks standing over the flames arent throwing together 10 ingredient sauce mixes for every single dish.What they actually use are ready made sauces as a base, then add additional flavours for different dishes.
These all purpose stir fry sauces are closely guarded secrets of restaurants you wont uncover them simply by googling, thats for sure! Today Im sharing mine. I call him Charlie . Perfected and tweaked over years, Ive been loyal to Charlie for a decade .
The brilliant thing about Charlie is that you make him just by combining the ingredients in a jar, them just store him in the fridge where hell happily reside for weeks months even. Then you simply heat some oil in a wok, throw in whatever proteins, vegetables and noodles you want, then throw Charlie in with some water and hell magically transform into a thick, glossy sauce that lusciously coats your stir fry. Hes great plain, but so versatile too add heat, herbs, fruity sweetness or some tang. Ive provided some of my favourite variations in the recipe below.
In the recipe below, Ive provided the basic formula for using Charlie and Ive also written a separate post on how to Build Your Own Chinese Stir Fried Noodles.
Id love to know what you think if you give Charlie a go! Nagi x
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.
Tips For Making Stir Fry
Good stir fry starts with good ingredients!
- Prep all ingredients before beginning, stirfry comes together quickly!
- Choose lean pork and cut into uniform strips. Do not overcook the pork or it wont be tender.
- Sesame oil adds great flavor to this recipe and a little goes a long way. Ensure youre using toasted sesame oil.
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What Kind Of Sauce Do You Put In A Stir Fry
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Most stir fry sauces are made with soy sauce, garlic, and other seasonings such as sesame oil, ginger, rice vinegar, chicken broth or chili sauce. One important component of stir fry sauce is a thickening agent, such as cornstarch. A thicker sauce will cling better to your chicken and vegetables. This recipe calls for oyster sauce, which is a salty Asian sauce that can be found in the ethnic aisle of most grocery stores. If you cant find oyster sauce or prefer not to use it, you can substitute hoisin sauce.
Stir Fry & Stir Fry Sauce
Stir fries are the perfect midweek meal for when you wantsomething quick and delicious. Many stir fry recipes call for only a fewingredients and can be cooked in under 15 minutes.
Simply choose your favourite combination of vegetables alongwith some meat, chicken, seafood or vegetable protein if liked and a delicioushomemade stir fry sauce. Add some riceor noodles and you’ve got a wholesome meal in minutes that the whole familywill enjoy.
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Simple Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry
Simple Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry prepared and cooked in minutes with no marinading needed! Crunchy green broccoli and tender crispy chicken stir fried in a beautifully flavoured teriyaki sauce. A hint of garlic adds a twist on a traditional Japanese inspired dish. Better than any teriyaki sauce found in a bottle.
How Long Does Stir
This recipe makes enough stir-fry sauce for about four batches of stir-fry. The sauce will last for up to two weeks in the fridge and for two months in the freezer make sure to give the sauce a stir before you use it. If you like, you can portion it into an ice cube tray to freeze, then pull out just what you need.
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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.
How Do You Make Chicken And Broccoli Stir Fry
This recipe starts with broccoli and mushrooms, which are sauteed to tender perfection along with some garlic and ginger. After the veggies are cooked through, the chicken goes into the pan to brown. The final step is an easy sauce which gets poured over the chicken and vegetables to simmer. Add some steamed rice on the side and dinner is served!
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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 Im 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. Im guilty of not leaving feedback when I try a recipe online, but this one was so easy to make 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
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 Use These Sauces
The recipes in this post were tested using the following ‘stir fry formula’:
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 4-6 cups veggies
- 1 cup uncooked rice .
You are welcome to increase the amount of meat in the recipe, but I wouldn’t alter the rice without increasing the sauce. The sauce: rice ratio is pretty important
Following this stir fry formula, you are going to get a serving of healthy protein, 3 servings of veggies, and one serving of grains. And a super delicious dinner!
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Faqs And Tips For Making Basic Stir Fry Sauce
What is stir fry sauce used for?
This stir fry sauce is excellent for just about anything! It tastes great when used with vegetables and meats like pork and chicken. Your options are pretty limitless.
How to thicken stir fry sauce
Mix a small amount of cornstarch and water in a bowl until its completely incorporated and then add it to your sauce. Cook over medium heat until its thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and the mixture will thicken even more as it cools.
What can I add to my stir fry for flavor?
Adding stir fry sauce like this recipe helps to add a bunch of flavor, but you can get even more out of your dish by adding in a little sugar, lemon juice, or coconut oil for frying the meats/veggies as this helps to bring out the natural flavors and depth a little more.
What should I put in my stir fry?
Stir fry can be made up of just about anything, but some of the more popular items to include are bell peppers, water chestnuts, onions, carrots, snap peas, broccoli, asparagus spears, and garlic.
The Ultimate Meal Prep
When hungry walk-ins are expecting their orders in ten minutes or less, its good to have an arsenal of shortcuts to make the process easier. One such shortcut was having an all-purpose brown sauce on hand to use as a base for many dishes, including the ever-popular Beef and Broccoli.
This ensured that anyone working at the wok station would make the same great-tasting dishes every single time. Consistency and speed are two very important requirements for a good Chinese restaurant, after all.
What was convenient at the restaurant extends to convenience at home. When Judy and I were both young, working, and taking care of our two young daughters, I used to slice vegetables and meats on the weekends or evenings, and portion out dishes two or three at a time to have them in the fridge ready to go.
With Judy picking up the kids from their after school program on the way home from her job in New York City, I would get home from work, start therice cooker, unwrap the sliced meat and chopped vegetables, open up my homemade stir-fry sauce, and I was ready to wok! After just ten minutes in front of the stove, a stress-free dinner was on the table on time, with the rest of the evening to ourselves.
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Easiest Vegetable Stir Fry
This is it! This is the recipe that gets me through the week! I love how simple and easy it is to cook and how delicious it tastes. There are so many variations to this recipe that it is perfect to make with a family.
Busy weeknights has me making 30 minutes or less recipes. They are easier and turn out to be, oh. so. good!
This past month I have been doing some meal prep and I decided to try this as well. I cooked it up on Sunday and added it into 5 days of lunches for me. It was simple to warm up and was filling all day.
The colors from the vegetables are so vibrant and blend so well together. You have a crunchy, soft and sweet texture that blends so well together leaving you wanting another bite.
My kids loved every bits of it and even asked for seconds. They loved it and wanted to
You can make this ahead, prepare it for dinner or freeze it for later. It is one stir fry that is simple, easy and delicious!
Easy Low Fodmap Stir Fry Sauce
The low FODMAP diet is ideal for relieving those irritating IBS symptoms. But with the diet comes certain food restrictions. If youre making a low FODMAP stir fry, you might find yourself limited in the sauces you can enjoy with it.
This is a common issue for low FODMAP dieters, but youre not without options. Thanks to our low FODMAP stir fry sauce recipe, you can enjoy a protein-packed addition to your stir fry. So join us we walk you through this recipe with step-by-step directions.
We will also discuss substitutes that you can use in place of certain ingredients if you cant have the originals for any reason. This versatility ensures that you get the vitamins and minerals your body needs without compromising flavor.
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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 , 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!
Easy Homemade Stir Fry Sauce
Make delicious, quick and easy stir fries every time with my Easy Homemade Stir Fry Sauce! This simple all-purpose sauce is perfect for when time is short, but you still want to eat well.
Easy Homemade Stir Fry Sauce
Hands up who loves a stir fry? Stir fries are one of the best meals out there IMHO they tick all the boxes quick, easy, delicious, cheap and healthy. They can be made in minutes and are packed with veg and are full of flavour too.
But one thing which can let the side down a bit are commercial stir fry sauces many are packed with weird, unpronounceable ingredients and lots of sugar! They often taste a bit synthetic and can be pretty pricey too.
Enter my Easy Homemade Sir Fry Sauce. This quick and easy sauce is made using just 6 simple ingredients: soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, chilli flakes, garlic and fresh ginger.
All you need to do is pop these 6 ingredients in a jam jar and shake hows that for easy peasy?
My Homemade Sir Fry Sauce is full of flavour and not at all artificial tasting, much cheaper than many commercial stir fry sauces and is not packed full of additives or sugar!
Make this stir fry sauce your own adaptations to try
If you are used to commercial stir-fry sauces you might find this sauce is not quite sweet enough for you. If that is the case, I recommend you add a teaspoon or two of honey to sweeten this homemade version up.
If you like a thicker stir-fry sauce, add 1 tablespoon of cornflour to the sauce .
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Why Dried Garlic And Ginger
It might seem strange to use powdered garlic and ginger here, but dried instead of fresh means the sauce will last much longer in the refrigerator or the freezer. Also, because the sauce is cooked just briefly at the end of stir-frying, fresh ginger and garlic wouldnt cook long enough to lose their raw texture and flavors. For an extra punch of ginger and garlic, stir-fry some fresh ginger and garlic until softened before adding the sauce at the end.
Stir Fry Sauce Recipe
Stir fry sauce doesnt last long around our house. If it was up to my older son, he would gladly inhale bowl after bowl of toasted rice doused in this savory sauce. Who could blame him? Salty with a tiny bit of sweetness, and all of those elusive umami-type flavors that make you say, More, please!
Stir fries make a regular appearance on my healthy meal plans. Since they are often touted as the ultimate meal prep dinner ideas quick and easy! it makes sense to make enough stir fry sauce for at least a couple meals and store the extra in the fridge. If sealed well either in an airtight plastic container or a mason jar, the sauce should last for up to 2 weeks. That means less work for you when its time to cook dinner.
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