Easy, 3-Ingredient Stir-Fry Sauce
This simple stir-fry sauce recipe is easy and quick. It's my go-to recipe for a weeknight and it pairs well with beef, chicken, or basic stir-fried veggies as pictured above.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- ¼ cup soy sauce divided use (see notes)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 ½ cups broth (chicken, veggie, or beef are all excellent)
Instructions
- Measure broth into a large spouted measuring cup and add 2 tbsp of the soy sauce. Taste it, and add remaining soy sauce to taste (see notes).
- Whisk in the corn starch until completely dissolved. It'll be cloudy, this is normal.
TO COOK STIR-FRY SAUCE SEPARATELY
- Pour the sauce to a medium saucepan, turn heat to high and bring to a boil. The sauce is done once it goes from a thin consistency and muddy opaque colour to a glossy, clear caramel colour and thicker consistency.
TO COOK THE SAUCE IN THE STIR-FRY
- Once your stir fry is 90% done (veggies are crisp-tender, meat is cooked through) pour the sauce over everything.
- The sauce will come to a rapid simmer and thickens typically in less than a minute. The sauce is done once it goes from a thin consistency and muddy opaque colour to a glossy, clear caramel colour and thicker consistency. (If you prefer a thicker sauce, see notes below).
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes 1 3/4 cups of stir-fry sauce, which is enough to nicely coat 8 cups of raw, chopped veggies plus one pound of protein.
- The saltiness of the sauce will depend on the saltiness of your broth. Start with 2 tbsp of soy sauce and add more by splashes to make sure you don't make your sauce too salty.
- I like the concentrated bouillon that comes in a jar (like Better than Bouillon) and dilute it with water per manufacturer's instructions instead of opening a carton of broth. You only need 1 1/2 cups, and this will save you finding a purpose for leftovers.
- Sauce thickness: as written, this is a glossy sauce of pouring consistency (like the thickness of sweet chili sauce not the thickness of BBQ sauce). However, different meats and veggies release different amounts of moisture so there is some variability to the thickness of the final sauce. To make the sauce thicker, add 1 tbsp more cornstarch to 2 tbsp cold water. Whisk until no lumps remain, then stir it into the pan. Let it bubble up and thicken and repeat if needed.
- You may substitute the soy sauce with wheat-free tamari for a gluten-free version.
- You can add any or all of these flavour boosters as variations on the basic stir-fry sauce recipe: 3 cloves garlic, minced, 1 tbsp minced ginger, 2 tbsp minced scallions, 2 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry, 1/2-1 tsp crushed red chili flakes, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Nutrition
Calories: 19kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.01g | Saturated Fat: 0.002g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.002g | Sodium: 786mg | Potassium: 21mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 127IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.2mg