Stir Fry Sauce

Finding ideas for dinners is never an easy thing.  I mean don't get me wrong, there is always the "Old Stand-By's" to fall back on, but they get boring after a while.  So looking for new ones is though.


I decided to rummage through my staples and see what I had on hand.  Much to my surprise I had the makings for Chicken Stir Fry.  I had boneless skinless chicken breasts, a bag of frozen stir fry veggies and some rice.  I was all set.  Perfect!  Now i just needed some sort of stir fry sauce.  That I did not have one hand. 

I'll admit that I used to keep packets of stir fry sauce in my pantry, but lately I stopped using them.  This is due to a few reason.  One, they cost adds up.  Don't get me wrong, I know that it does not cost a lot to have these packets on hand, but when every penny counts, it does add up.  Second, as crazy as it sounds, I just did not like the idea of not knowing what was init.  Yes they were convenient and yes they were easy to use, but something about it, made me question what we were eating. 

We are not crazy health nuts by any means, but I do not like the idea of "extras" in my food. 

Okay, so enough on that, back to the story.

So here I was with everything I needed and no stir fry sauce.  Now what?  Hello!  Google!  Yes, that's right I googled stir fry sauce recipes and then decided that I would use a little of each one and make my own.

Reason?  I was not keen on some and others had ingredients either I didn't own, or would not normally use in my cooking. 

Like I've always said before, cooking is all about you and making stuff you like!  Get creative!  And that is exactly what I did.

So here is what I used.

2 cups Chicken Broth.  (I had to make my own, since I didn't have any on hand)  You can also make this with Beef or Vegetable Broth as well depending on what you are making.
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar.  It's my favorite)
3 Tablespoons cornstarch

This will make approximately 3 cups of sauce and can be stored in an air tight container for up to two weeks.

Mix all the ingredients together.  I had fun playing with the slow motion video setting on my phone, so check it out.

 Once the chicken was cooked and my veggies were nice and crisp.  I added the sauce.  Now I made a HUGE pan, so I used all the sauce, but depending on how much you make depends on how much you use.  I have a family a five, so there is no making little portions in my house.  Everything is pretty much done on a grande scale. 

Now, let the sauce come to a boil and then simmer it for 1-2 minutes more. 

 This sauce tasted great, thickened up beautifully and my family loved it!  My husband loved it even over just plain rice to add some flavor to an otherwise boring side dish.  This is definitely something that I will be making and using in the future!  Best Stuff!!

Remember just because something is convenient doesn't mean that it is always good.  Take a few extra minutes to make it yourself.  Not only will you know exactly what you are putting into it, but you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you made it yourself. 

Remember to make cooking or anything you do fun and exciting.

Happy Cooking & ENJOY!