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Home » Recipes » Sauces and Condiments » Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

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This stir fry sauce recipe can be used for vegetables, chicken, beef, shrimp, and pork. It is super easy to make and totally adaptable. Store in the fridge or freezer for later!

homemade stir fry sauce in a glass bottle

One of the easiest meals to make is stir fry and using a stir fry sauce makes it even easier because it has all of the seasonings you need.

You can use whatever meat you have. Chicken, beef, shrimp, and pork all work really well. Or skip the meat for an all vegetable option.

Grab some veggies, fresh or frozen, depending on what you prefer.Try using cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, snow peas, peppers, onions, corn, beans, and mushrooms. It’s a great way to use up extra vegetables.

You can eat the stir fry with just the meat and vegetables or serve it over rice or noodles.

Disclaimer: This post contains links to products for making this recipe. If you use those links, I may earn a commission. Learn more here.

three pans on a stovetop making stir fry

While in Florida with my mom and sisters, one of the meals we shared was a simple stir fry. We used bottled stir fry sauce and our meal was delicious!

I decided to try to make my own stir fry sauce recipe and found that it was really easy to make.

Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

Homemade Stir Fry Sauce mixture in a glass pitcher

Step One: Soy Sauce Mixture

Start by mixing together the soy sauce, chicken broth, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, honey, rice vinegar, sesame seed oil, and black pepper so that it is ready to add to the saucepan once the ginger and garlic are ready.

I chose to use barbecue sauce in this stir fry sauce because I always have it on hand but an equal amount of hoisin sauce could be used instead.

Cornstarch and Water mixture in a small bowl

Step Two: Cornstarch Mixture

The thickener in this stir fry sauce recipe is cornstarch but you can’t just add the cornstarch to the hot, boiling sauce since it will clump together.

To prevent this from happening, mix the cornstarch with cold water in a small bowl so that it is ready to use when you need it.

Garlic and Ginger being Whisked in Sauce Pan

Step Three: Garlic and Ginger

Now, it time to start cooking the sauce. Start by heating the olive oil, minced garlic, and ground ginger.

For this step, you can use powdered garlic or minced ginger if you prefer. See the FAQs below for the amounts.

Stir Fry Sauce ingredients cooking in saucepan

Step Four: Liquids

Once the olive oil is hot, it’s time to add the soy sauce mixture that was previously made. Whisk in the mixture and cook over medium heat until it starts to boil.

whisking thickened stir fry sauce in saucepan

Step Five: Add Cornstarch Mixture

Finally, add the cornstarch/water mixture to thicken the sauce. You’ll want to add the mixture slowly while whisking constantly to prevent clumping. Cook until the sauce has thickened.

stir fry sauce in a glass bottle

Step Six: Sauce Storage

Once the stir fry sauce has cooled, move it to an airtight container or jar with a lid and store it in the fridge.

stir fry sauce drizzled over chicken stir fry

Use this stir fry sauce for vegetables, chicken, beef, shrimp or pork.

Stir Fry Sauce Recipe Tips and FAQs

1. What kind of vinegar should I use? I used rice vinegar when making this recipe. You can also try substituting white distilled vinegar or apple cider vinegar.

2. What kind of barbecue sauce should I use?

Barbecue Sauce: Some of you have very strong opinions regarding barbecue sauce. You can use your favorite brand of barbecue sauce, make homemade barbecue sauce, or use a tablespoon of hoisin sauce instead.

3. Do I have to use sesame oil? This recipe calls for sesame oil because it adds so much flavor to the stir fry sauce but it can be made without it or substitute the sesame oil with olive oil.

4. Can I substitute another kind of liquid? For this recipe, I used chicken broth for the liquid. You can substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth for a vegetarian version. Or change the flavor by using orange juice or pineapple juice instead.

5. I don’t have any minced garlic. Can I use garlic powder instead? To substitute the 3 teaspoons of minced garlic with 3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder. If you love garlic, you can increase the amount of minced garlic in this recipe.

minced ginger for stir fry sauce

6. How can I use freshly grated ginger instead?

I made this stir fry sauce with dried, ground ginger because that is what I typically have on hand. It would be fabulous with freshly grated ginger though. Use 3-4 teaspoons of grated ginger instead. Again, if you love ginger, you can up the amount you use.

7. Do you have any suggestions for making this stir fry sauce spicier? To make this stir fry sauce spicier, add sriracha sauce, chili sauce, or red pepper flakes.

8. How can I freeze this stir fry sauce? Put it into one large airtight container or in a couple of smaller containers if you only plan to use a little at a time. Freeze for up to three months. Thaw completely before using.

9. Does this stir fry sauce only last two weeks? From the research I did, that is what I found but feel free to use your best judgment and freeze what you can’t use. (see #8 above)

10. How much sauce do you use when making stir fry? I used 2 tablespoons of stir fry sauce for one pound of chicken. Plus, an additional 1/4 cup when I added 5 cups of veggies. See my chicken stir fry recipe here.

11. Can I add peanut butter to make a peanut butter sauce? Yes! Collin commented below and said he added a couple tablespoons of crunchy unsweetened peanut butter.

12. What can stir fry be served over? Try it with white rice, brown rice, fried rice, cauliflower rice, Chinese noodles, angel hair pasta, zucchini noodles, or quinoa.

13. Can I make this into a gluten free stir fry sauce? Yes. Be sure to use all gluten free ingredients. Here are a few I found on Amazon: gluten free soy sauce, gluten free barbecue sauce, gluten free rice vinegar, gluten free sesame oil, and gluten free cornstarch.

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Stir Fry Sauce Recipe | thegunnysack.com

Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

Yield: 14
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

This stir fry sauce recipe can be used for vegetables, chicken, beef, shrimp, and pork. It is super easy to make and totally adaptable. Store in the fridge or freezer for later!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 3 tbsp spicy barbecue sauce
  • 2 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp ground ginger

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, broth, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and pepper. Set aside.
  2. In another small bowl, mix cornstarch and water together. Set aside.
  3. Mix together oil, minced garlic, and ground ginger in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until oil starts to simmer.
  4. Whisk in the soy sauce mixture and bring it to a boil.
  5. Slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Cook for a few minutes until thickened, stirring constantly.
  6. Allow the sauce to cool. Store in the refrigerator in a jar with a lid for up to two weeks.

Notes

This recipe makes 1 3/4 cups of sauce. Serving size is about 2 tbsp per person.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 14 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 56Total Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 0gSodium: 372mgCarbohydrates: 6gSugar: 4g

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© The Gunny Sack
Cuisine: Chinese / Category: Sauce
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Comments

  1. marti says

    August 11, 2020 at 5:23 pm

    What hoisin sauce?

    Reply
    • Tonia says

      August 12, 2020 at 11:55 am

      Hoisin sauce is a dark, sweet, spicy sauce commonly used in Chinese cuisine. You can find it in the aisle with the soy sauce and chow mein noodles.

      Reply
  2. Steve says

    December 6, 2019 at 12:05 pm

    I made a batch of it today using hoisin sauce and I guess that’s why it came out a lot darker than your picture. I’m making a chicken stir fry, so we’ll see how it goes.

    Reply
  3. Abby says

    October 10, 2019 at 3:27 pm

    This sauce is FANTASTIC! Just enough for what I needed (8 servings of meal-prepped stir fry, and it probably could have gone further), and clings without being thick and sticky. I like to sprinkle a bit of crushed red pepper on my dish before eating, and you probably could sprinkle it into the sauce while cooking if you wanted too. Definitely my new go-to stir fry sauce recipe!

    Reply
    • Tonia says

      October 11, 2019 at 4:37 pm

      Thank you so much! You made my day!

      Reply
  4. Gloria says

    June 22, 2019 at 11:59 am

    I just made a batch of this sauce and all I can say is “WOW”!!! I like things a bit spicy, Hubby not so much. This has just enough kick to please me, and not so much to make him cringe. I made the recipe exactly as written and, when I make the next batch, will not change a thing. Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply
    • Tonia says

      June 27, 2019 at 5:50 pm

      Fabulous! I’m happy to hear that you like it as much as we do! ~Tonia

      Reply
  5. Mariella says

    January 8, 2019 at 10:58 pm

    My daughter-in-law makes this all the time, but she subs out the soy sauce for coconut aminos as I’m allergic to soy. I love it! Tonight I made my own batch, doubled it. For about a third of it, I put peanut butter in it as someone suggested. Yum! I also used veggie broth and 100% apple juice concentrate for the brown sugar as I try to avoid table sugar. It turned out delicious and such a nice recipe, it can stand a few subs and still come out great.

    Reply
    • Tonia says

      January 15, 2019 at 1:55 pm

      Sounds fabulous! Thanks for sharing! ~Tonia

      Reply
    • Jacqueline says

      January 18, 2019 at 12:36 am

      Mariella….could you give me the actual measurements for the substitution?
      I would like to try it this weekend… thank you…

      Reply
      • Mariella says

        October 13, 2019 at 7:24 pm

        Oops, so sorry, didn’t see this comment until today. I did a 1:1 sub, so 2.5 T. of apple juice concentrate (not reconstituted w/ water – just straight from the frozen can). And I used veggie broth for the chicken broth – same amount that recipe uses. As for the peanut butter, I just took out about 1/3 of the sauce and blobbed in some pb. Probably 2 T. or so.

        Reply
      • Stephanie says

        December 14, 2019 at 6:29 am

        I made this for my Turkish husband today and I was amazed at how good it is. He said he could eat this sauce on everything 🥰 thanks so much for sharing the recipe.

        Reply
    • Birdie says

      September 24, 2020 at 1:41 pm

      I saw this after I made the original which is really good but like the substitutes for cutting out table sugar and chicken broth. Thanks for tips and good to know it comes out just a well.

      Reply
  6. Wayne says

    October 8, 2018 at 7:55 am

    Made this recipe for friends and family a campground gathering. Rave reviews all around and there wasn’t a morsel left. Best yet. Thanks

    Reply
  7. Jada says

    August 8, 2018 at 7:35 pm

    The sauce did not turn out as expected. I added soybean paste since I did not have any hoisin sauce which ruined the flavor; and mixing it with rice vinegar made it too tangy. I will surely try it again and use hoisin. I did not rate the recipe because I changed up the ingredients.

    Reply
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Tonia LarsonHi, I'm Tonia, a lover of food and photography! Fill a gunny sack with ingredients, tie on an apron and let's get cooking!
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