I’m a bit of a stir-fry addict.

In fact I made one only last night (which I will be sharing tomorrow).

Malloree wants to strangle me right about now because she claims and I quote “Stir-fry agaaaaain?! Mom, you either make stir-fry or Mexican for dinner!” And she’s right. I could live off a bowl of rice, some sort of chicken, steak or pork stir-fried in a good sauce and roasted broccoli (<— my go-to. you know this) or anything Mexican for the rest of my life and be a-okay with it.

Ages ago; before blogs, bloggers and “foodies” (cringe) there was genuinely only one, maybe two online sources for me to turn to for recipe help. One late afternoon, I hopped on to my computer hoping I could find some sauce recipe to pour over my cooked, yet once frozen stir-fry veggie blend and fully cooked but hardly browned cubed chicken and rice– not that I could make rice then either. All I wanted was a basic, unfussy from-scratch stir-fry sauce. That’s it. Nothing complicated with ingredients that I had no idea what they are nor where to find them. My search was futile. I couldn’t find a single one. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Sure there were less than authentic sauces calling for Dijon mustard– uhwhat? But those only wouldn’t do.

Fast forward to a few years ago. I’m a little (and I mean little) wiser, a smidgen more confident in the kitchen and making basic cooking essentials is my jam. So I’ve come up with a straightforward kitchen-made stir-fry sauce that you can truly pour right over your (cooked) veggies and/or protein and rice. A sauce that you can make ahead and keep it in the fridge until ready to use. Simply bring it to a bubble and cook until thickened. SO STRAIGHTFORWARD.

For the from-scratch stir-fry sauce you’ll need; garlic, ginger, chili garlic paste, brown sugar, cornstarch, low-sodium tamari (or low-sodium soy sauce), rice vinegar and, depending on what you’re making (beef, chicken, pork or vegetable stir-fry), you use 1 cup of broth of your choosing.

Add the ginger, garlic and chili garlic paste into a glass jar or container with a tight fitting lid.

Next add in 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar and 2 tablespoons cornstarch. The cornstarch will help thicken the sauce once you add it to the skillet and bring it to a boil.

Pour in 1/4 cup of low-sodium tamari…

…and 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar.

Now depending on what you’re making, you can use that kind of broth. Beef broth for a beef stir-fry. Veggie broth for a vegetarian stir-fry… you get the point. For pork you can use either chicken or vegetable broth.

Tighten the lid and give it all a shake. You can either store it in your fridge until you’re ready to use it or pour it into a hot pan with fully cooked, stir-fry meat, vegetables or both! Bring it to a simmer and stir until thickened. Feel free to adjust this sauce to your taste buds. Add more ginger or garlic, toasted sesame oil, chili garlic paste or Sriracha. It’s unfussy to customize so go for it and have fun. Try it with this Saucy Pork Lettuce Wraps!

There you have it! One majorly straightforward from-scratch stir-fry sauce!

Try it tonight in this method!

Enjoy! And if you give this Straightforward Kitchen-made Stir-Fry Sauce recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!