Stir Fry Sauce – A Beautiful Mess

We make a lot of stir fry at our house and today I’m here to share our recipe for homemade stir fry sauce. This five minute recipe is so easy to make!

I think being able to make a great stir fry is one of those meals everyone should know—it should be taught in schools as a basic life skill. I love rice, I love noodles and I love using up whatever leftover meats and vegetables are sitting in my fridge.

While yes, you could certainly use a store-bought stir fry sauce I think there’s a lot of value in being able to throw one together from things you likely already have on hand. This easy stir fry sauce recipe is flavorful, slightly sweet and a little bit spicy. It goes great with almost anything you are throwing into your stir fry.

Related: Sweet Chili Sauce, Spring Roll Sauce, Dumpling Sauce, Sweet and Sour Sauce, Orange Chicken Sauce.

Stir Fry Sauce Ingredients

• Soy sauce – You can use tradition soy sauce or low sodium or gluten-free.
• Chicken stock – Or chicken broth.
• Sesame oil – Adds depth of flavor.
• Rice vinegar
• Worcestershire sauce
• Garlic – Fresh garlic, minced.
• Ginger – Fresh ginger, minced.
• Brown sugar
• Red pepper flakes – For a little kick.

While this may seem like a lot of ingredients, keep in mind that many of them are either shelf stable or can be stored in the refrigerator for long periods (so you can use them up over time).

Directions

In a small- to medium-size mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Whisk together until the sugar is fully dissolved.

Another option is to add all the ingredients to a jar, like a mason jar, with a lid. Then shake well until the sugar has dissolved.

Now you can pour the stir fry sauce over your stir fry mixture while cooking in a large skillet or pan. Store any unused sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. This makes about a cup of sauce (the perfect amount), so I can typically use this recipe twice. But it depends how much stir fry you are making/how big your family is.

Tips & Substitutions

• Instead of soy sauce, you could use low-sodium soy sauce, liquid aminos or gluten-free soy sauce. 
• You can substitute vegetable or beef stock for chicken if you prefer. You may also use vegetable broth if you want to make a vegan stir fry sauce. 
• If you don’t have sesame oil and don’t want to buy it, you can use another cooking oil like olive oil. But, I do think the flavor of the sesame oil adds to this recipe.
• If you don’t have rice vinegar and don’t want to buy it, you can use apple cider vinegar. I like the sweetness of rice vinegar, but ACV will work well too.
• Instead of brown sugar, you could use granulated white, honey, or maple syrup. You can also reduce the amount of sugar if you prefer.
• I don’t feel this sauce needs a thickening agent. However, if you do prefer one, add a teaspoon or two of cornstarch when whisking together.
• Secret ingredient—many people claim ketchup is the secret ingredient in stir fry sauce. It gives a boost of flavor. If you try it, start small and let us know what you think.

Stir Fry Recipe Ideas

Learn how to build the perfect stir fry. We love to use veggies, broccoli, snow peas, bell peppers, onion, mushrooms and carrots in our stir fry. You can also add protein such as shrimp, beef, pork or chicken.