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This easy, sweet and savory stir fry sauce recipe comes together in 5 minutes with pantry staples to help you get a delicious dinner on the table fast. You can use it to stir fry noodles and any meat or veggies you want to use up (try it on beef stir fry)!
As much as I try to meal prep ahead of time so weeknight dinners are a breeze, sometimes it just isn’t in the cards for me. On busy nights when I don’t have dinner planned, it helps to have a few tricks up my sleeve so I don’t end up ordering food or hitting up the drive-through at my favorite fast food chain. This quick, easy, versatile sauce helps put a flavorful meal on the table fast!
What is Stir Fry Sauce?
Stir fry sauce is a savory, well-balanced sauce with a sweet and salty flavor that’s used to make stir fries.
The base is usually soy sauce and broth or stock, and it typically contains aromatic ingredients like ginger, garlic, and/or scallion. Honey, brown sugar, or maple syrup adds a touch of sweetness, and rice vinegar lends a tangy kick for balance. Sesame oil gives richness and depth, and for a hint of spicy heat, a recipe might include chili pepper and/or crushed red pepper flakes. Some recipes (including this one) contain a thickener like cornstarch, which gives the sauce a glossy texture and helps it coat whatever you’re stir frying.
How to Use Stir Fry Sauce
One of the best things about this quick and easy sauce is that it’s versatile. It works well on proteins like beef, chicken, shrimp, tofu, etc., or vegetables like broccoli, carrot, bell pepper, zucchini, snow peas or snap peas, asparagus, etc. Or if you just want to make stir fried noodles, it works great for that too!
And you aren’t limited to making stir fry with it. You can use this sauce as a dip for wontons, egg rolls, or spring rolls. Or use it as a marinade for chicken or beef. The possibilities are endless!
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
- Water – Instead of broth or stock, here we use water + chicken base (Better Than Bouillon is my go-to). If you prefer, feel free to omit the water and chicken base and use broth or stock instead. Any kind of broth or stock is fine, chicken, beef, or vegetable.
- Low-sodium soy sauce – This adds salty, umami flavor. You can also use regular soy sauce (instead of low sodium) if that’s what you have on hand, or use gluten free tamari sauce, coconut aminos, or liquid aminos.
- Light brown sugar – Brown sugar adds sweetness with a touch of rich molasses flavor. You can also use coconut sugar or honey.
- Rice wine vinegar – Also just called rice vinegar, this adds a bit of tanginess to help create a balanced flavor profile.
- Garlic and ginger – These are classic ingredients in many stir fry sauce recipes. For the most intense flavor and aroma, use fresh garlic and ginger here.
- Mirin – Mirin is a Japanese cooking wine made of rice. It has a golden color, low alcohol content, and sweet, tangy, umami flavor. If you don’t have this on hand, you can omit it.
- Toasted sesame oil – Another key ingredient in this sauce, toasted sesame oil adds rich, nutty complexity. A little goes a long way!
- Cornstarch – After heating, cornstarch thickens this sauce and gives it a glossy sheen.
- Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base – Instead of using broth or stock, I like to use water + chicken base because I always have this on hand. It adds rich savory flavor that gives great depth to this sauce. Instead of chicken, you can use any flavor of Better Than Bouillon or any kind of soup base you like (or omit the soup base and use broth or stock instead of water).
- Crushed red pepper flakes – This adds a little kick to the sauce. Feel free to adjust the amount, or omit it if you prefer.
- White pepper – White pepper is optional. It adds earthy depth that complements ginger’s pungency and brings out soy sauce’s umami flavor.
How to Make Stir Fry Sauce From Scratch
- Add all ingredients to a medium bowl.
- Whisk to combine.
Storage
Store this sauce covered in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. (TIP: Freeze this sauce in an ice cube tray so you can easily thaw as much as you need.)
Tips For the Best Easy Stir Fry Sauce
- This sauce thrives when you customize it. Don’t be afraid to taste it and adjust the amounts to suit your preferences. If you want the best stir fry sauce, it needs to be tailor-made for you!
- I like to freeze this sauce in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, just pop out the cubes and put them in a freezer-safe plastic bag for longer storage. This way, if you’re just making a small stir fry to use up meat and veggies in your fridge, you can grab a cube or two without having to thaw and use the entire batch of sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
If the sauce contains cornstarch, yes, you have to cook it. This thickens and sauce and removes the starchy flavor.
Note that if you’re using the sauce to make a stir fry (instead of making the sauce to use as a dip or marinade), the sauce is typically added after the meat, vegetables, and/or noodles are cooked, and then simmered for a couple minutes. The sauce cooks in the same pan as the stir fry and doesn’t need to be cooked beforehand.
This sauce is added to a stir fry during the last couple minutes of cooking when the protein and vegetables are already cooked or mostly cooked.
Yes! To use this as a dipping sauce, whisk together all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat, bring to a simmer, and stir until thickened (it’ll typically thicken within 30 seconds).
Absolutely! To do so, omit the cornstarch and keep everything else the same.
More Savory Sauce Recipes to Try
- Peanut Satay Sauce – Use it to make Thai-inspired noodles, or serve it with chicken satay, grilled meat, roasted vegetables, etc.
- Tartar Sauce – For fish and chips, other seafood, and more!
- Shawarma White Sauce – Great for sandwiches, wraps, and grilled meats (and of course chicken shawarma!).
Let’s Connect
Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below. You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media.
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Stir Fry Sauce Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar lightly packed (or coconut sugar or honey)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons peeled freshly-crushed garlic
- 1 tablespoon peeled freshly-grated ginger
- 1/2 tablespoon mirin optional
- 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional; more or less to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper optional
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
- Use this sauce to make stir fry or cover and store it in the fridge for up to 1 week to make stir fry later. (See Notes for other uses.)
Notes
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes about 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of sauce, or 10 (2-tablespoon-sized) servings.
- Storage: Store this sauce covered in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. (TIP: Freeze this sauce in an ice cube tray so you can easily thaw as much as you need.)
- To Use This as a Marinade: Omit the cornstarch and keep everything else the same.
- To Use This as a Dipping Sauce: Whisk together all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat, bring to a simmer, and stir until thickened (it’ll typically thicken within 30 seconds).
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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