It Only Takes 3 Ingredients To Make A Tasty Stir-Fry Sauce

Stir-frying is a quick and easy way to make a healthy, balanced meal with plenty of flavor, all in one pan for easy cleanup. Whether or not you add a type of meat, such as steak, shrimp, or chicken, for protein, or a starch, like white or fried rice or Singapore noodles, is up to you. There is no fixed way to make it. Whether you lean more into beef and broccoli or tofu and edamame, you can choose the ingredients you like best, and cook them in a wok with a little oil (or not) and some stir-fry sauce.

If you're thinking we just revealed the catch, don't panic. The stir-fry sauce is the best part, and making it is just as simple as the rest of the dish. All you need are three ingredients: broth, soy sauce, and a thickener — however, aside from the soy sauce, these ingredients are just as versatile as the vegetables and protein. In fact, between these and the sauce ingredients, you could easily mix and match a stir-fry into a different dish every time you make it.

The broth, which can be chicken, beef, or veggie, gives your stir-fry sauce a flavorful base to start. Soy sauce adds salt to enhance the flavor, along with umami and a slightly sweet note, which is especially important if your broth is low in salt or salt-free. For a thickener, cornstarch is best as it dissolves clear and gives sauces a glossy finish. You can also add other flavors if you wish such as minced garlic, sesame oil, ginger, scallions, chili flakes, honey, or a dash of oyster sauce or rice wine.

To make the stir-fry sauce, use a small pot but do not put it on the heat to start. Cornstarch needs to dissolve in cold (preferably) or room-temperature liquid, otherwise, it will clump and make you think this recipe isn't as easy as it seems. Once the cornstarch is dissolved, put it on the stove and whisk in the broth until smooth. Bring it to a boil while stirring; you'll know it's done when it turns from a cloudy sauce to a thicker, clear gloss. Alternatively, you can pour the sauce, once mixed smooth, directly over the stir-fry. When the vegetables are almost done and the meat is cooked, coat them in sauce and the hot food will thicken things up.