Stir Fry Sauce Recipe (2024)

Do you enjoy a good stir fry? I'll bet you do. As a spicy food lover, a good stir fry dish can equate to big satisfaction, depending on the recipe, of course.

I've had some stir fry dishes that were much too mild for my personal tastes, with a focus on sweetness over savoriness. I prefer a balance of umami with a touch of sweet, and a nice touch of spicy heat that lingers but does not overpower.

So much of it depends on the stir fry sauce, the component that brings the entire stir fry dish together.

There are a lot of stir fry sauce recipes out there on the interwebs and in cookbooks. So many of them are overly simplified that just don't deliver enough nuance and character that can make a stir fry great.

This is my own Favorite Stir Fry Sauce Recipe, one that I've been using for many years. I use many of the same ingredients other stir fry sauces use, but with different ratios and a focus on the flavors I prefer to emphasize for my own spicy food loving palate.

Plus, I always include fiery gochujang, an addictive Korean chili paste that adds just the right amount of heat and loads of flavor. If you're looking for the stir fry sauce to end all stir fry sauces, this is it, my friends. I think you're going to love it.

Plus, it's easy to customize to your personal flavor and heat preferences.

Let's talk about how we make my favorite stir fry sauce, shall we?

Stir Fry Sauce Ingredients

• Gochujang. I love hot gochujang, though you can use milder. Also, try it with other flavorful chili pastes like Chinese Doubanjiang or Korean Ssamjang.
• Hot Paprika. Or use a mix of cayenne and sweet or mild paprika – you can use other spicier chili powders as well
• Sesame Oil.
• Soy Sauce.
• Rice Vinegar.
• Brown Sugar. Or use honey, which I love as well.
• Garlic. Use fresh garlic or garlic powder, though I prefer fresh.
• Ginger. Use fresh ginger or ground ginger, though I prefer fresh.
• Chicken Broth.
• Red Pepper Flakes.
• Corn Starch. Mixed with 1 tablespoon water. This is a nice thickener for your stir fry sauce. It will thicken up slightly in the pan as you cook it, allowing the sauce to stick to all of your chosen meats and vegetables. Each bite will be fantastic and delicious.

How to Make Stir Fry Sauce - the Recipe Method

Whisk the Ingredients. Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl until well combined.

Use as Desired. Use to make your next stir fry!

This recipe will make you about 3/4 cup of stir fry sauce, enough for an evening's stir fry meal for 4-6 people. Use about 1/2 cup for a single serving and save the rest.

Boom! Done! Your stir fry sauce is ready to make some amazing stir fry! Looks wonderful, doesn't it? Smells delicious, very enticing. And so easy to make, right?

What kind of stir fry are you going to make? Let me know!

Recipe Tips & Notes

• Gochujang. Gochujang is a thick Korean chili-bean paste with a pungent in flavor that adds a zingy depth to your dishes. There are a number of brands on the market today, and they range in heat levels from mild to very hot. In fact, some substitutions includeChinese Doubanjiang, Korean Ssamjang, Sriracha, Garlic Chili Sauce, Thai Chili Paste (thinned with soy sauce). Other chili pastes can work as well, though I prefer hot gochujang in my stir fry sauce. So good!
• Heat Factor. Medium. You'll get a nice level of heat from the gochujang if you use a hotter variety. You can easily dial back on the overall heat by using less gochujang or using a milder variety. You can also up your heat factor by including some hot peppers in your chosen stir fry dish. I often use sliced jalapeno peppers for an everyday level heat, or serrano peppers for some extra heat. I love bird's eye peppers or some sliced habanero peppers to really kick it up a notch. Of course you can also use hotter chili powders in your mix. Go for it, my crazy chilihead friends!
• Storing Stir Fry Sauce. Stir fry sauce will last a good week in a sealed container. Store it in the fridge or in a sealed mason jar.
• Stir Fry Recipes. Use this sauce to make quick and easy stir fries any night of the week. Chicken stir fry is hugely popular, but so is shrimp, pork and beef. See my recipe links below, but you can easily just toss your chosen protein in a hot wok with oil along with your favorite stir fry veggies, like bell pepper, sugar snap peas, broccoli, hot peppers and others. Easy and delicious!

That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy it. This is the best stir fry sauce recipe you'll ever need! No joke. In fact, let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you. Keep it spicy!

Storage & Leftovers

Storing yourStir Fry Saucein anairtight containerin the fridge may allow you to store the leftovers for up to 1-2 weeks. In fact, to maximize the storage life, make sure to refrigerate it promptly.

Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes

• Spicy Shrimp Stir Fry
• Spicy Beef Stir Fry
• Pork Stir Fry
• Chicken Stir Fry
• Teriyaki Shrimp Stir Fry
• Drunken Noodles
• Spicy Chicken Fried Rice
• Spicy Ramen Noodles
• Miso Ramen
• Yakisoba Noodles
• Mie Goreng (Indonesian Stir Fry Noodles)

Try Some of These Other Great Sauce Recipe

• Szechuan Sauce
• Teriyaki Sauce
• Hoisin Sauce
• XO Sauce
• Tonkatsu Sauce
• Korean BBQ Sauce
• Bulgogi Sauce