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!
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.
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
Step One:
In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, broth, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and pepper. Set aside.
Step Two:
In another small bowl, mix cornstarch and water together. Set aside.
Step Three:
Mix together oil, minced garlic, and ground ginger in a saucepan.
Cook over medium heat until oil starts to simmer.
Step Four:
Whisk in the soy sauce mixture and bring it to a boil.
Step Five:
Slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture while whisking.
Cook for a few minutes until thickened, stirring constantly.
Step Six:
Allow the sauce to cool. Store in the refrigerator in a jar with a lid for up to two weeks.
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.
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.
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!
- 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
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In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, broth, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and pepper. Set aside.
-
In another small bowl, mix cornstarch and water together. Set aside.
-
Mix together oil, minced garlic, and ground ginger in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until oil starts to simmer.
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Whisk in the soy sauce mixture and bring it to a boil.
-
Slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Cook for a few minutes until thickened, stirring constantly.
-
Allow the sauce to cool. Store in the refrigerator in a jar with a lid for up to two weeks.
This recipe makes 1 3/4 cups of sauce. Serving size is about 2 tbsp per person.
Updated from original recipe posted June 2015
Wayne says
Made this recipe for friends and family a campground gathering. Rave reviews all around and there wasn’t a morsel left. Best yet. Thanks
Jada says
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.
Maureen Crawley says
Yum! Would I be able to can this sauce? Trying to put together gift baskets of homemade sauces.
Tonia says
Hi Maureen,
I have no experience with canning. Hopefully, another reader can provide some insights!
~Tonia
Tima says
Loved it. I made it as the stir fry sauce and tint for use later. My husband loved it. I will use more ginger and orange juice instead of water
Krystal says
Can you freeze this sauce?
Tonia says
Yes, you can freeze it. 🙂
Reenie says
Really loved this sauce. I did cut the soy and doubled the chicken broth-still tasty. Did a pork and veggie stir fry over brown basmati rice. Thanks for sharing.
Tonia says
Awesome! Stir frys are such a great way to get more veggies in and a good way to use of leftover vegetables. Thanks for stopping back to let us know how it turned out. ~Tonia
tno2007 says
i made this once… i subbed the chicken broth for veggy broth cos im vegetarian… my bottle lasted only 2 days cos it was so damn delicious.
Pam says
Can this recipe be canned?
Lauren C says
This sauce is very good. I just cook up enough for us two, and the rest is refrigerated until I need a sauce again (up to 2 weeks). I cooked up some blackened chicken and we used the sauce in the pan drippings to thicken up. Mine doesn’t look quite like the photo though.
Carla Ownwomon says
WOW. I made a few changes to your recipe. First, I doubled the ingredients. I omitted the sesame oil and honey, because I didn’t have either. I also cut the brown sugar in half, because I didn’t want it so sweet. I used half the soy sauce and made up the volume difference with more chicken broth. Lastly, I added twice the amount of minced garlic, from 4.5 tsp (double portion) to 3 tablespoons. Everything else was as directed, except I used ACV instead of rice vinegar. It’s cooling now, I plan to use it tonight, but I’m not sure I can wait that long. Any good cook tastes food in preparation to make adjustments as necessary, and this was so delicious, I wanted to eat it warm with a spoon! This is just too good not to share. Thank you! Will serve with chicken, asparagus stir fry mixture over quinoa made with chicken broth and onion powder. I’m already drooling at the prospect!
Tonia says
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
Sheryl says
This is my new go to stir fry sauce! So good! Have used with chicken beef and shrimp…yum! I used “fighting cock” barbecue sauce which has more kick to it. Anyway thanks so much for your recipe!#
Richard C Hennessy says
Can’t believe this won’t last a LOT longer than two weeks in the refrigerator.
Angela Johnson says
Loved your sauce, thank you.
Collin says
Great recipe. Have used this twice now and really enjoyed it. I like to add a couple table spoons of crunchy unsweetened peanut butter to make it like a peanut stir fry sauce. Vegetable Broth is also works instead of chicken broth for any vegetarians.
Tonia says
Now that is a great idea! I can’t wait to try it!
Contrary2Ordinary says
This was very good and will plan to make some tweeks next time for our personal tastes: red pepper flakes added to the devil spit BBQ sauce from Famous Daves.
I will note, if you are used to eating low sodium….we found this sauce still quite salty even with the call for low sodium items. Didn’t know if cutting the soy sauce to 1/4 cup and adding a 1/4 cup of low sodium chicken broth may help? Water even? We also added 1/3 cup of fresh pineapple juice to help cut the salt. We used the sauce scantily over our dish and it was tasty with chicken, water chestnuts, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots etc. alongside a medley of brown rice, wild rice, red rice and quinoa. Thank you!!!
Sharon says
I use Bragg ( in Health store) Liquid Aminos – natural soy sauce alternative…sodium is only 160 mg
Crin Coull says
Made this for dinner and we loved it. Easy to make. I used left over pork from the other nights dinner. This will be a definite every couple of weeks! Thanks!
Michelle B. says
This sounds a lot like sweet and sour sauce? Is that the taste? I am planning to make a stir fry tomorrow night, but I will not be using corn starch because I am out of it lol, but I know it’s just a thickening agent so no biggie!! I will probably make a double batch as we love more sauce than the actual
Ingredients for the most part!! Can’t wait to try!! Also, if you don’t have or cannot find ginger, whether fresh or otherwise, is there a good alternative? I’ve NEVER bought/used ginger before! Thanks in advance!!
Tonia says
I’m not sure about the sweet and sour sauce, I’ve never made it. I don’t know of an alternative for ginger but you can leave it out if you can’t find it. Best of luck! ~Tonia
Katie Ganoe says
I think I’ll try it with some White Balsamic Vinegar, I have.
Are the Sesame Seeds toasted, and when did you add them?
Jess says
How much sauce per stir fry mix do you add? Just trying to figure out how much chicken and veggies I need.
Tonia says
Hi Jess!
Here is my chicken stir fry recipe: https://www.thegunnysack.com/chicken-stir-fry-recipe/
Enjoy!
Tonia
Katie says
What kind of BBQ sauce did you use?
Tonia says
I use Sweet Baby Ray’s.
Edd Morton says
Asian style cooking is a hobby and a passion of mine. I am always trying different sauces, and I gotta tell ya that this is a very good one. I will definitely be making it again.
Katie says
Tried this tonight and my boyfriend (who hates stir fry sauces) was like can you make it again cause it’s so good! Thank you for bringing this to me.
NaomiK says
This was really yummy! Made it for supper last night and I loved it. I’m going to freeze the leftovers and see how that works. Thanks!
Peggy Brennan says
I made this totally wrong because I was too impatient to open the pin and just threw all the ingredients together. It was amazing!! I can’t wait to taste the deliciousness when I do it right! I doubled it because I have a big family , and they were all crazy about it. EXCELLENT recipe!!!
Tonia says
Yay!! I’m so happy it turned out! ~Tonia
Cathy says
How much sodium is in this sauce?
Tonia says
Hi Cathy,
Sorry, I’m not sure. Enjoy!
~Tonia
Ally says
Making it now, but should obviously read ahead first. I added vinegar, then read to instructions where it says RICE vinegar. Oh well, here goes an experiment!
Edd Morton says
I actually used ACV and it was delicious.
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
What a great idea! Perfect sauce to have on hand!
Lisa @ Wine & Glue says
This is absolute genius Tonia! I LOVE a good stir fry! And this sauce looks just perfect!
Liz says
Love this sauce. Thank you Tonia and have a great week!
Nancy says
This sounds really good, but a question..do you use refined, unrefined or toasted sesame seed oil?
Tonia says
I used the sesame seed oil that is sold in the Asian cooking section of the grocery store. It says “100% pure sesame seed oil, an oriental seasoning oil” on the bottle.
Malia@Small Town Girl Blog says
This sounds awesome! Great idea! Pinned 🙂
Jackie says
This looks delish!