You're 3 Ingredients Away From Homemade Stir Fry Sauce

Stir fry is one of those foods folks can make any way they choose. Beef, chicken, pork, and seafood are all proteins that can be added into the mix, and for veggies, almost anything goes. You can speed up the process of including veggies by using a salad kit for a quicker stir fry, and using pre-cut meat from the grocery store saves time on slicing up the hero of the dish. Still, every stir fry worth its salt needs a tasty sauce, and you can save additional time by using just three ingredients to flavor it.

Blending together sesame oil, soy sauce, and cornstarch gets you an Asian-inspired flavoring that only takes minutes to prepare. The salty, umami flavor of soy mixed with the somewhat bitter and nutty notes in sesame oil works with nearly any combination of veggies and protein. You never want a stir fry sauce to be soupy, and that's where the cornstarch comes in. The pantry staple thickens up the other watery ingredients and ensures you end up with a well-coated stir fry, similar to how cornstarch can fix a soggy green bean casserole.

Using correct ratios is key, as sesame oil can be overwhelming when too much is incorporated into a meal. Only a quarter cup is needed, and a third of a cup plus a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce will do the trick. Pour both of those with one tablespoon of cornstarch into a small container with a lid, shake vigorously, and add to the stir fry when it is about five minutes from being done.

Like cilantro, sesame oil isn't for everyone. If you find the bitterness of the ingredient unappealing, you can make your stir fry sauce a bit more savory by substituting a flavorful broth. Any type of broth works, but you may want to consider pairing like with like — such as using beef stock with beef stir fry — for best results.

Instead of shaking the ingredients together, you will whisk the cornstarch to dissolve it, similar to how you would make a slurry to thicken beef stew. Pour a quarter cup of soy sauce and one and a half cups of your favorite broth into a small bowl — the Anchor Hocking Batter Bowl with molded spout is perfect for this — then add two tablespoons of cornstarch. Whisk the mixture until there are no visible lumps of cornstarch. It may take a few minutes, but you will know it is done when the sauce has a uniform texture and looks slightly cloudy.

Just like the sauce that calls for sesame — which is great for accenting seafood in stir fries — it gets added to the dish when it is almost done cooking. Unlike the other three-ingredient blend, you will note a more savory flavor that is perfect for elevating proteins like pork and chicken. Whichever ingredients you ultimately choose, you won't have to spend much time in the kitchen preparing the sauce before getting to dig into a flavorful meal.