You're Only 3 Ingredients Away From A Delicious Stir Fry Sauce

Stir fry is one of those dishes that is so beautifully simple, but can feel impossible to get right without a good sauce. While the base ingredients come together rather quickly, the sauce is what makes the dish — regardless of how you customize it with toppings. Instead of grabbing a store-bought version that won't taste as fresh, you can use three staple pantry items to make your own stir fry sauce at home.

Start with soy sauce to get that signature stir fry flavor and add the salty quality that pairs well with noodles and meats. Then you'll add cornstarch to thicken the liquid and give it that richer consistency your ingredients can glom onto. Make sure these two are fully combined into a slurry before adding anything else or exposing it to heat. Finally, mix in a broth — chicken, beef, bone, or veggie — to create a solid base with more depth of flavor than water. 

It's optional, but for added body and an earthy note, you can also include sesame oil in your sauce. A little goes a long way, and you could alternatively incorporate the flavor by using sesame oil to fry your meats and vegetables instead. Whisk the sauce carefully so it doesn't separate or evaporate under high heat before adding it to your stir fry. Let it cool slightly before taking a bite, then revel in this simple yet delicious at-home upgrade.

One of the fun and convenient things about stir fry is how easy it is to adapt or customize based on your preferences or dietary restrictions. This also means you don't have to stop at just three ingredients for your sauce — extra seasoning is always encouraged. Oyster sauce is a great way to enhance a stir fry's flavor with a subtle seafood undertone that blends well with the soy and broth. It's also commonly used in other Asian recipes, so the flavor profiles will align. If you want to literally spice things up, try adding chili oil or chili crisp for a bite of heat. Just be mindful of how the seasonings interact with the high salt levels in your base so you don't overdo it.

Another great thing about a simple three-ingredient sauce is that you can make it separately, freeze or refrigerate it for safekeeping, and have it on hand whenever you need it. However, since the sauce comes together so quickly, it's just as easy to whip up at the last minute to add extra oomph to homemade fried rice, a takeout meal, or a batch of bland frozen vegetables. There are tons of ways to make the most of this simple sauce recipe — so you'll be able to bring a home-cooked taste to whatever you're eating.