Stir fry is a great, easy weeknight meal but no stir fry is complete without a flavorful sauce! This 3 Ingredient Stir Fry Sauce is simple, delicious and perfect for any kind of stir fry!
Hello Reader! I try my hardest to research recipes as best as I can before posting to ensure I am representing each culture correctly. If this recipe is from your country and I have made a mistake or you have suggestions for how to make it more authentic, I would love to hear! Please leave a comment below letting me know what should be different, and I will rework the recipe. It is always my intention to pay homage and respect to each cultural dish that I cook. Thanks for reading!
When you need dinner fast, you cannot beat the simplicity of a good stir fry. You can use almost any vegetables and any meat you’d like, including my favorite Shrimp Stir Fry with Noodles or Steak Stir Fry. And when you see how easy it is to create a homemade stir fry sauce that is full of flavor with just three ingredients–it really is the best!
This stir fry sauce can be made with just a few pantry staples (just like this Fajita Sauce, too!), but the result is a dish that tastes like takeout.
Bookmark this quick stir fry sauce recipe for busy weeknights!
Why Make this Recipe
- Quick Prep: This 3 Ingredient Stir Fry Sauce is ready to go in minutes and adds a touch of bold flavor to any stir fry
- Versatile sauce: This sauce is simple enough to work well with just about any protein or vegetables. It’s also easy to adjust the saltiness or sweetness to your liking.
- Tastes Like Takeout: The bold flavor of this sauce makes a simple meal taste like it came straight from a restaurant!
Ingredients for 3 Ingredient Stir Fry Sauce
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Soy Sauce: You can use regular or low-sodium. In a pinch, or for a gluten free option, you can also use coconut aminos!
- Hot Honey: The hot + sweet adds a lot to this dish. I get my hot honey from Trader Joe’s, but you can use any brand or make your own hot honey sauce! If you don’t have hot honey, you can make some by using regular honey and add some crushed red pepper flakes into the sauce as well. If you are sensitive to a spicy taste, you can also just use regular honey!
- Cornstarch: This helps to thicken the sauce. It is imperative to add the cornstarch when the sauce is cold, as the cornstarch will mix well into the sauce. If you want to add more after you have heated up the sauce, make sure to mix the cornstarch with water first or the cornstarch will get lumpy.
Recipe Variations
You really only need three ingredients to make a simple stir-fry sauce but you can also add more layers of flavor to take your recipe up a notch! Here are a few ideas to add to your stir fry sauce:
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Red pepper flakes
- Toasted sesame oil
- Rice vinegar
- Scallions
- Oyster sauce
- Rice wine
- Sesame oil
- Brown sugar
- Chili oil
- Chicken or vegetable broth
Expert Tips
- This is a very potent sauce and will make your dish very salty if you add too much. It was enough for a 12.5 oz bag of stir fry vegetables and about 1 lb of shrimp. Start with adding a little bit, then tasting your food and adding more as necessary.
- If you want your sauce to be thicker, you can add more cornstarch. To do so, mix the cornstarch with cold water BEFORE dumping it into the pot. If you add it right into the sauce without combining with water first, it will form lumps. I started with less cornstarch, but the sauce wasn’t thick enough for my liking, so I added more.
- Many traditional stir fry recipes call for soy sauce, sesame oil, and water, but I opted to go with hot honey to strike the perfect hot and sweet balance. For deeper flavor, try adding an acid into the sauce if you can!
- You can easily double or triple this recipe as needed and store in the fridge for even easier use. I recommend storing in a mason jar and giving the jar a good shake before using it!
- For extra flavor, use this sauce as a marinade—just leave out the cornstarch until you’re ready to cook
Recipe FAQs
Yes! You can easily make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. Give it a stir before using it. It should stay good for up to a week.
The beauty of a simple sauce is it’s also a versatile sauce! It pairs beautifully with shrimp, beef, chicken, pork or even tofu. Broccoli, snap peas, bell peppers, carrots and cabbage all make for an excellent stir fry.
This is a pretty concentrated sauce so a little bit goes a long way. It makes about ¾ of cup of sauce, which was plenty for a stir fry to serve about 3-4 people.
You can freeze this stir fry sauce! It would be a great idea to freeze it in ice cube trays for the perfect amount of sauce for a serving or two.
Did you enjoy this recipe for 3 Ingredient Stir Fry Sauce? If so, check out these other recipes I’ve chosen just for you:
If you tried this 3 Ingredient Stir Fry Sauce or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
3 Ingredient Stir Fry Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp hot honey, or normal honey
- 2 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients (3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp hot honey, 2 tsp cornstarch) + 5 Tablespoons of cold water in a bowl and whisk to combine. The sauce will look cloudy.
- Dump the mixture into a small pot and heat over medium heat until the sauce thickens, about 4-5 minutes.
- To serve in a stir fry: Saute your vegetables until tender, then add your meat and saute until cooked through. Once the vegetables and meat are cooked, add the stir fry sauce at the end, and stir everything over medium-high heat until the sauce is warm. Serve over rice and enjoy!
Notes
- Soy Sauce: You can use regular or low-sodium. In a pinch, or for a gluten free option, you can also use coconut aminos!
- Hot Honey: If you don’t have hot honey, you can make some by using regular honey and add some crushed red pepper flakes into the sauce as well. If you are sensitive to a spicy taste, you can also just use regular honey!
- Other Ingredients You Can Add for more flavor:
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Red pepper flakes
- Toasted sesame oil
- Rice vinegar
- This is a very potent sauce and will make your dish very salty if you add too much. It was enough for a 12.5 oz bag of stir fry vegetables and about 1 lb of shrimp. Start with adding a little bit, then tasting your food and adding more as necessary.
- If you want your sauce to be thicker, you can add more cornstarch. To do so, mix the cornstarch with cold water BEFORE dumping it into the pot. If you add it right into the sauce without combining with water first, it will form lumps. I started with less cornstarch, but the sauce wasn’t thick enough for my liking, so I added more.
- Many traditional stir fry recipes call for soy sauce, sesame oil, and water, but I opted to go with hot honey to strike the perfect hot and sweet balance. For deeper flavor, try adding an acid into the sauce if you can!
- You can easily double or triple this recipe as needed and store in the fridge for even easier use. I recommend storing in a mason jar and giving the jar a good shake before using it!
- For extra flavor, use this sauce as a marinade—just leave out the cornstarch until you’re ready to cook.
Nutrition
Recipe Origins
Stir fry is an ancient Chinese dish that calls for vegetables and thin slices of meat to be cooked quickly over high heat, usually in a wok.
This cooking method became popular during the Ming Dynasty because it allowed chefs to preserve energy, nutritional value, color and flavor, while creating a dish that was quick and filling.
The popularity of stir fry has spread across Asia (with similar recipes like Lagman, Beef Yakisoba, and Beef and Broccoli popping up in neighboring regions) and eventually around the world. It’s a versatile dish noted for its bold, fresh flavors.
Leave a Reply