I love a good stir fry and they are a great way to use up odds and ends of meat, vegetable and noodles. And let’s face it, they are a quick and easy dinner solution. Simply cook up some rice or throw in some noodles and it’s a family-pleasing meal.
I rarely start with a recipe – just a pile of odds and ends. So it occurred to me recently that what I really needed was a stir-fry sauce “cheat sheet” – a handy reference for the combination of sauce ingredients I need to make different kinds of stir fry to combine with my collection of ingredients.
So I created one!
Here I’ve collected 15 great stir-fry sauce recipes that can be printed to keep handy in the kitchen (or bookmarked, if you prefer).
15 Basic Stir-Fry Sauce Recipes
Instructions for all of these recipes … just combine the ingredients in a small bowl, stir well to combine, then add to your stir fry. Don’t miss the tips at the bottom of the recipe list, as well.
Lemon Stir-Fry Sauce – Great with seafood stir fries, such as shrimp and/or scallops, as well as chicken.
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
Lemon Stir-Fry Sauce II – nice with chicken and seafood.
2/3 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 -3 tablespoons lemon juice (to taste)
Optional: red pepper flakes
Soy Sesame Stir-Fry Sauce – good all-round Asian sauce, suitable for all proteins.
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tsp. rice wine vinegar
4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes
2 tsp. sugar
Basic Stir-Fry Sauce – good all-round sauce.
2/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup rice wine or rice vinegar
3 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce – great with chicken and pork.
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider or rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes
Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce II – great with chicken, pork, beef and shrimp.
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar or cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce III – great with chicken, pork, beef and shrimp.
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup pineapple juice (or addition 1/4 cup water)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Hot and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce – good all-round sauce.
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 tsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. chile paste (sambal oleek)
Thai Stir-Fry Sauce – great with chicken or shrimp.
2/3 cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
3 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/3 to 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili
2 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
Peanut Stir-Fry Sauce – perfect for noodles or chicken.
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tsp. granulated sugar (less if not using natural peanut butter)
4 tsp. natural peanut butter
2 Tbsp. water
2 teaspoons Asian chili garlic paste
Combine all ingredients and heat in microwave for 20-30 seconds.
Orange Stir-Fry Sauce – nice with chicken and pork.
3/4 orange juice
1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
2 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. Oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. Rice vinegar
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. Finely grated orange zest
Orange Stir-Fry Sauce II – nice with chicken and pork.
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tsp. brown sugar
1 green onion, finely chopped
Spicy Orange Stir-Fry Sauce – great with chicken!
3/4 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. finely grated orange peel
1/2 tsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. sesame oil
Large pinch of dried crushed red pepper, or to taste
Orange Sesame Szechuan Stir-Fry Sauce – nice with chicken.
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar or rice wine
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 tsp. sesame seeds
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 fresh red chili, finely chopped or 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (or 1/2 tsp. sambal oleek)
Spicy Szechuan Stir-Fry Sauce – great all-round spicy stir fry sauce.
3-4 Tbsp. sodium-reduced soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice wine or rice vinegar
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp.sesame oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. green onion, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. chili paste (sambal oleek or chili paste sauce with garlic)
Tips:
- Some of these sauces already have cornstarch added but if they don’t, you can use this to thicken any sauce that you think is too thin. Simply combine 1 Tbsp. cornstarch with 3 Tbsp. water and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add a bit, stir and cook until sauce thickens. Add more as necessary.
- Consider using low-sodium chicken broth and soy sauce to avoid an overly-salty finished dish.
- Each of these sauces makes 1/2 – 1 cup of stir fry sauce. You may not need it all, depending on the amount of meat, noodles and/or vegetables you are stir frying. Add as necessary to make it as saucy as you like and thicken with the thickener above, if desired. Of course, you can also double the sauce if you’re making a lot of stir fry.
- Some of these sauces already contain things like minced garlic, ginger, onion or chilis (or other heat) but if they don’t, be sure to consider adding some into your stir fry.
- Everyone’s tastes are different so you will likely want to tweak the sauces to your tastes. If you print out the list, you can simply make notes as you go to develop your perfect sauce.
These recipes were exactly what I was looking for! I’ve tried the basic soy stir fry and the orange stir fry – to great acclaim! Especially good when there’s lefover cooked chicken, one less thing to cook. Looking forward to trying the others.
Glad you enjoyed them, Pam. Thanks!
I have shockingly never made a stir fry, but love them so much. I need to make one soon, what great ideas
Thanks. I find a stir-fry the perfect fridge cleaner. When I get to that point where I just have odds and ends, it’s a stir fry night :)
Thanks Hannele and let me know how you make out with your stir-fry.
I’m a stir fry noob, and was wondering about the order of operations – when would you add the sauce to the stirfry? After browning the meat, or cooking the veggies?
Yes, I generally mix up the sauce before I start. Heat oil in pan until hot, then stir fry meat, then veggies. I add the sauce last and cook until hot and thickened.
Thanks! I also want to say, I love this blog – everything looks so delicious and inspiring!
TRIED THE BASIC STIR FRY SAUCE I STILL FOUND IT A LITTLE SALTY EVEN THOUGH I USED LOW SODIUM PRODUCTS. I WONDER IF I CAN USE LESS SOY SAUCE AND ADD A BIT OF WATER TO SUBSTITUTE WHAT I DON’T USE . WHAT DO U THINK
I think you could. You could also try a bit of low-sodium chicken broth for a bit more flavour.
Love the stir fry sauce…very basic and very easy…
Do you have soy garlic? Thanks.
Thanks. I’ll see if I can find a soy garlic for you.
This is a really nice list of surprisingly simple sauce recipes! thanks for the awesome inspiration, I am totally going to write these down in my recipe book. Thanks for the awesome post!
Thanks Molly, I was surprised too at how really simple they can be.
Let me know how you like the Spicy Orange, Jill!
Tried the spicy Szechuan recipe and everyone in the family loved it. We love spicy food and when my daughter ate a bite, assuming it was the usual old recipe I’ve made, she smiled and said “oh it’s spicy, I love it”. The only thing that confused me was that cornstarch and soy sauce are listed twice. I just added a little bit more of each and tasted it, instead of putting it in twice. Very good!
Sorry about that Janet but glad your family enjoyed it. I’ve edited the recipe to remove the confusion. Thanks for pointing that out.
Stir fry sauce overload!! Love it. Can’t wait to try some of these out. Great idea to compile them all in one place. :)
Thanks Erin. I just found myself winging it one too many times :) I printed this off and keep it handy in the kitchen.
Always looking for some quick and simple recipes to make and I always struggle making a stir fry tasty so really pleased I came across these. Thank you for sharing, think I’m going to try the Spicy Orange Stir-Fry Sauce this weekend.
Thanks Jill. Let me know how you like the Spicy Orange!
Gave this one a go using fresh squeezed organic orange juice and velvet chicken, broccoli, squash, sugar snap peas and onion over brown rice. Have to say it was one of my best SFs yet. Will be trying more of these yummy recipes. Thanks for the collection, Now bookmarked.
That sounds delicious, Chuck. Might have to borrow that for dinner tonight :)