Make a batch of the Best Stir Fry Sauce and you can make a stir fry meal any day of the week easily. Although you can buy stir-fry sauces off the supermarket shelf, many include ingredients that would never be used in stir-fry if you made it from scratch. Homemade stir fry sauce is easy to mix together ahead of time so you can make stir fry meals anytime you want. Simply choose a protein and vegetable (or several) to stir fry and you’ll have a complete meal.
I’ve been trying to come up with easy recipes for one of my boys who’s in college and cooking for himself. I’ve already posted an easy recipe for Pan Roasted Chicken and Vegetablesand Healthy Ramen Noodle.This week, I’m shipping him a batch of an extremely versatile stir fry sauce that I’m calling The Best Stir Fry Sauce because it is my go-to combination of Chinese sauces and ingredients when I stir fry. I actually tried finding a good stir fry sauce at our local Asian grocery store, but couldn’t find anything, so I decided to make my own. I’m not sure why I never thought to do this for myself all these years.
Stir frying is a quick and easy, healthy meal, especially if you have ready made stir fry sauce handy. All you need are some vegetables (most supermarkets carry pre-cut stir-fry vegetable mixes if you don’t feel like doing any prepping) and a lean protein. I like to use garlic, ginger and/or scallions as aromatics, but you can use chopped onion too.
Basic Stir Fry Recipe
Here’s the basic formula for an amazing stir-fry that is healthier than takeout and absolutely delicious:
Choose a lean protein:
Boneless chicken breast or thighs (cut into strips)
Pressed tofu (sliced)
Shelled shrimp
Flank steak (cut into thin slices against the grain)
Choose a variety of fresh vegetables:
Broccoli florets
Cauliflower florets
Red bell peppers (cut into strips)
Sugar snap peas
Snow peas
Mushrooms (sliced)
Carrots (sliced)
Asparagus (cut into 1 1/2″ pieces)
Bok Choy (cut into bite size pieces)
Choose one or morearomatics:
Minced garlic
Minced ginger
Chopped scallions or chopped onions
Stir-Fry Method (serves 3-4 people, depending on how hungry you are):
Marinate 1 pound of lean protein with 2tablespoons Stir Fry Sauce; let sit 10-15 minutes or overnight
Heat 2 teaspoonsoil in a large non-stick skillet or wok
Add aromatics (1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon ginger, and/or 2 tablespoons chopped scallions/onions) and stir fry 10-15 seconds, until fragrant
Add 6 cups of vegetables (cut into bite size pieces, if necessary), season with a little salt and stir fry 2-3 minutes, until crisp-tender; transfer to serving bowl
Heat2 teaspoons oil insame skillet; add marinated protein to skillet and stir fry 3-4 minutes, tossing protein around to cook all sides (pressed tofu is pre-cooked, so if you use this, it only needs to be heated through)
Add 1 tablespoon of Stir Fry Sauce along with cooked vegetables and 1/4 cup water, and toss well
Note: If you’re cooking for one person, simply halve or quarter the above recipe.
4.8 from 5 votes
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The Best Stir Fry Sauce
CuisineChinese
Servings40enough to marinade 10 pounds of protein
Calories21kcal
Ingredients
1cupgluten free soy sauce
1tablespoonplus 1 teaspoon organic sugar
2tablespoonsplus 2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2cuprice wine or sherry
1/2cupoyster sauce
2teaspoonsground pepper
1/2cupplus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl or blend in a blender. Store in refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
This sauce should keep for several months in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Facts
The Best Stir Fry Sauce
Amount Per Serving
Calories 21
% Daily Value*
Sodium 403mg18%
Potassium 17mg0%
Carbohydrates 2g1%
Calcium 3mg0%
Iron 0.2mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Aromatic ingredients like garlic, ginger, green onions, chilies and spices. These ingredients are typically added to the oil first to infuse it with flavor. You won't need much; a few teaspoons to a tablespoon of total aromatic ingredients per person adds a serious amount of flavor.
Whisk the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, sugar and red pepper flakes if using in a medium bowl until combined. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
The first is to cook your protein and your vegetable separately, and combine them only after both are fully cooked. A second rule of thumb for stir-frying: Choose one vegetable per stir-fry. Finally, always remember to add liquid only after everything is more or less finished cooking.
If you are using fresh vegetables, you will need to stir them around for 4-5 minutes so they start cooking before you add your sauce. When they are starting to feel tender, but still have a lot of bite to them, add the sauce. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve your stir-fry over brown rice or quinoa.
So many different oils, the good news is you can stick with what you know – canola is great! The best oils for stir frys are the oils with the higher smoke points. These tend to be the “thinner” oils such as peanut, grapeseed or canola.
"Tomatoes should never go in a stir fry — not at all." Chef Natasha Ford adds that they're too mushy. "They would just make your stir fry soupy," she says. "If you really want to use them, keep them as fresh and uncooked as possible.
Stir-fry onions first, then add hard vegetables such as carrot and broccoli. Quick-cooking vegetables, such as snow peas, leafy greens and bean sprouts, should be added towards the end of cooking. If using vegies that have a combination of both textures, such as gai laan, add the stems first and the leaves later.
So this is a process where you should season close to the end. If you do not want your stir-fry to be bland, you can also enhance the flavor by adding wok sauce or utilizing ingredients like fresh chilies, Sriracha sauce, fresh lime juice, garlic, ginger, and lemongrass.
A dash of fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, and even MSG (no, it's not horrible for you) will go a long way too. It's possible I've been watching too much Netflix, but it's really essential that you have some source of salt, fat, acid, and heat in any savory dish you make.
For the best results, you have to mix the ingredients of the sauce in a small bowl before using. Before adding the sauce into the stir fry, quickly stir it so nothing settles at the bottom of the bowl. Also, don't use too much corn starch as you don't want a thick and gooey sauce.
Cook together with Thai holy basil and you have a winning combination. You can also use spice blends in a stir fry. Try a sprinkle of Cajun Spice Blend, Indonesian 7 Seas or Chinese 5 Spice to name a few. Looking to cheat even further and produce a tasty, fast meal, you could consider using a Gourmet Cooking Sauce!
Introduction: My name is Jonah Leffler, I am a determined, faithful, outstanding, inexpensive, cheerful, determined, smiling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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