What is your favourite sauce for stir fries? I'm making one tomorrow and only have hoisin sauce.

[applegrove]

My parents did not like it last time.

[HopeHoops]

1. I use sesame oil or peanut oil and add a bit of shoyu or cooking sherry.

[begin_within]

2. I love hoisin sauce.

Teriaki is also good, even though it's Japanese, it makes a good sauce for Chinese stir-fry.

If neither is appropriate, maybe try a curry sauce.

[Kali]

3. do you like a lot of sauce and do you like it thickened?

a basic combo is some broth (whatever meat you are using or vegetable - can use powders if that is all that is handy but tastes really good if made from scratch)

say 2 cups broth, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup sherry, bit of ginger, teaspoon or two of sugar, dark corn syrup or other sweetener (or molasses for beef)

then play around with garlic, chilis (red pepper flakes), a few tablespoons of your hoisin,or oyster sauce etc etc the great thing about stir fry is the flexibility

to thicken, add a few tablespoons of cornstarch to a small amount of cold water and add that mixture to you almost simmering wok (or whatever) and stir - simmer for a full minute and a half to two minutes or the thickener can taste kind of raw. The problem is to make sure you didn't overcook the vegetables during the stir fry phase if you are doing this all in one pan - you can also make the sauce separately and pour over the stirfry.

save the teaspoon or two of good sesame oil for adding last - it is a flavoring, not a cooking oil and I would say it is pretty essential, although you can get by without it

[applegrove]

4. Thanks.

[MiddleFingerMom]

5. I like something orange- or lemon-based with some heat added with crushed red pepper.

.
.
.
I definitely make the sauce separately as I'm not that great with on-the-fly timing.
.
.
.
Water chestnuts, pea pods and bean sprouts are essential.

[applegrove]

6. Water chestnuts I forgot. Those are yummy. Lemon I can do. Will have to skip the "hot".

[grasswire]

7. I don't use a sauce

I use a lot of grated fresh ginger and some sliced garlic --- add it to the oil to give flavor to the oil. Then do the frying, starting with the items that will take the longest to cook first -- onions, bell pepper, carrots, whatever. Then add the things like bean sprouts that will cook faster. It's all over in just a few minutes.

If we want sauce, we add it at the table. Soy, or mai ploy, or whatever.

But the traditional sauce uses cornstarch, water, soy and a bit of sherry.


What I like in stir fry (trying to stuff many vegetables in diners):

cabbage shreds
bell pepper (green tastes best I think)
carrots
onion
pea pods
bean sprouts
fresh spinach leaves
cashew nuts
diced chinese bbq pork
a handful of sesame seeds
a glug of sesame oil

sometimes we add noodles

oh, I also like some sliced bok choy, or napa cabbage

[Bonobo]

8. Have you ever tried miso

It is popular to do "miso-itame" here in Japan.

When everything is cooked, add a dollop two and some sake (or cooking wine) (just enough to dissolve the miso).

Mix and eat.

[TheCruces]

9. I don't use bottled sauces

I always just wing it with combinations of tamari (or Bragg's liquid aminos), mirin, sesame oil, sriracha, rice wine vinegar, ginger, five-spice, etc. I wouldn't rec winging it for everybody, but after you make enough stir-fries, you can.

[Liberal Veteran]

10. A mix of Mae-ploy sweet chili sauce and low-sodium soy sauce.

[kurtzapril4]

11. Go easy on the sesame oil

A little goes a long way. Same with the cornstarch.

[Xyzse]

12. Sauce for Stir Fry?

Depends.

If Beef:
Salt / Pepper
Soy Sauce
Chicken Broth - From actual stock
Basil Leaves
Hot Peppers
-Thicken with corn starch dissolved in warm water--

If Chicken
Salt / Pepper
Chicken Broth - from actual stock
Roasted Garlic
Ginger - sliced thinly
--Thicken with corn starch dissolved in warm water--

[hifiguy]

13. Good soy sauce cannot be left out.

And I don't mean LaChoy. Kikkoman is the "floor" soy sauce. I will use it but much prefer Pearl River Bridge or Koon Chun.

Sriracha ("rooster sauce" because the bottle has a pic of a rooster on it) is usually a good addition. Sherry, chili paste, sugar - just a pinch - and soy sauce are a great place to start building a stir-fry sauce.