Homemade Take-Out: How to Make a Thick Stir Fry Sauce (2024)

FAQs

How do I make my stir-fry sauce thicker? ›

Whisk together a tablespoon of cornstarch with an equal amount of cold water until smooth, in a small bowl. This slurry can then be gradually introduced to your stir-fry sauce over medium heat, leading to a thicker, glossier consistency.

Aromatic ingredients like garlic, ginger, green onions, chilies and spices. These ingredients are typically added to the oil first to infuse it with flavor. You won't need much; a few teaspoons to a tablespoon of total aromatic ingredients per person adds a serious amount of flavor.

Use Flour and Water

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency.

Whisk the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, sugar and red pepper flakes if using in a medium bowl until combined. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Much like French food, which relies on a roux for a perfect bechamel sauce or beef bourguignon and involves butter cooked with flour, Chinese and Cantonese cuisines use cornstarch to thicken sauces. However, it's predominantly added at the end of the cooking process rather than at the start.

Egg yolks, arrowroot, tomato paste or butter can thicken sauce in place of flour or cornstarch.

Though it's virtually flavorless, cornstarch is easily one of the most vital ingredients in a Chinese kitchen, with multiple uses, including thickening sauces, gravies, and soups.

The first is to cook your protein and your vegetable separately, and combine them only after both are fully cooked. A second rule of thumb for stir-frying: Choose one vegetable per stir-fry. Finally, always remember to add liquid only after everything is more or less finished cooking.

What makes a stir-fry taste good? ›

Common aromatics for stir-fry include ginger, green onions, garlic and shallots. You can use almost any vegetable in a stir-fry, including broccoli, snap peas, bell peppers, cauliflower, carrots and more. In addition to being a delicious and easy-to-make meal, stir-fry is healthy and nutritious.

The aromatics should be cooked low and slow

If added to a wok or pan on high heat, they will burn quickly and taint the flavour of the stir-fry. As these items are used to flavour the oil, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the aromatics gently. Make sure to spoon them out of the pan before increasing the heat.

Sometimes the stir-fry sauce can end up being watery after you add it to the meat and veggies. To thicken the stir-fry sauce, make a cornstarch slurry by dissolving a tablespoon of cornstarch in a small bowl of water. Then add the slurry to the stir-fry, stirring it until the stir-fry sauce is thick.

Add about 1 tablespoon of cornflour per cup of sauce but don't dump it straight in or it will clump. Instead, make a mixture with equal parts cornflour and cold water and whisk this into your sauce.

How do you make a sauce thicker? The easiest way to thicken a sauce is by reducing the amount of liquid. This can be done by simmering your sauce or bringing it to a full boil—do this uncovered, so the steam can escape.