Stir Fry Sauce
Published September 1, 2022 • Updated June 14, 2026
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I make this three-ingredient sauce every week for whatever protein I have on hand. It's low carb, ready in two minutes, and tastes so much better than anything from a bottle.
I started making this sauce because I was tired of reading ingredient labels on store-bought bottles and finding sugar listed three different ways. I figured if the base was just soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic, I could make it myself in less time than it takes to drive to the store. Three ingredients, two minutes, and it tastes better than anything I’d been buying for years.
The flavor starts with the soy sauce and vinegar working together. The soy sauce brings salt and depth. The vinegar cuts through it and keeps things bright. I rotate between white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and rice vinegar depending on what I’m cooking. Rice vinegar is my pick when I want something softer. White vinegar gives a sharper edge, especially with beef. The garlic ties it all together, and I always use fresh cloves when I have them. Powdered garlic works in a pinch, but the raw stuff mellows beautifully once it hits a hot pan.
One of my readers accidentally grabbed sesame oil instead of vinegar one night, drizzled it in anyway, and told me it was the best batch she’d made. I tried it on purpose after reading her comment, and she was right. That nuttiness rounds out the whole sauce in a way I didn’t expect. Now I add a small drizzle almost every time. It’s one of those happy accidents that became a permanent part of my version.
I usually double the recipe and store it in a mason jar in the fridge for the week. That way I’m not making a fresh batch every night. I just pour out what I need over whatever protein and vegetables are in the pan, put the jar back, and dinner is halfway done before I’ve even turned on the burner. I use it on chicken stir fry, keto beef and broccoli, shrimp, pork chops, or whatever I have thawed. Two minutes of prep replaces every bottled sauce in the pantry.
The ratio scales easily too. If I’m cooking for one, I cut everything in half. If I’m feeding the whole family or prepping for the week, I triple it and divide into smaller containers. It’s just as flexible as my keto teriyaki sauce, but without any sweetener at all. If you’ve never made a sauce from scratch before, this is the one to start with. No cooking, no emulsifying, no special equipment. I mix mine in a jar and shake.
How to make stir fry sauce
- Add the three core ingredients (soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic) to a small bowl or mason jar.
- Mix or seal the jar and shake.
- Pour out as much as you need over your favorite vegetables and proteins (chicken, beef, or shrimp). I add a thickener like cornstarch or arrowroot powder if I want it thicker.
What is stir fry sauce made of?
This recipe uses only three basic ingredients. They’re pantry staples I always have on hand.
- Soy sauce: Regular or low-sodium both work. I use tamari when I want a gluten-free option. For soy-free, try liquid aminos or coconut aminos (though coconut aminos runs sweeter, so I add a splash more vinegar to balance it out).
- Vinegar: I rotate between white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and rice vinegar. Each one shifts the flavor, so I experiment depending on the protein I’m cooking.
- Garlic: Fresh cloves are my first choice, but I reach for powdered garlic (1 teaspoon) when I’m short on time.
I have additional flavor add-ins listed below, like ginger or sesame oil.
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Ingredients
1/2 cup soy sauce, tamari or liquid aminos -
1/4 cup white vinegar or rice vinegar
-
2 cloves garlic, minced
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Add ingredients
Add soy sauce, vinegar and minced garlic to a small bowl or mason jar.
Mix
Mix or shake until combined. Pour on stir fry vegetables, chicken, beef or shrimp. Or store in the refrigerator for later.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use this sauce as a marinade?
I do this all the time. I pour it over chicken or beef in a zip-top bag and let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (up to overnight). The vinegar and soy sauce tenderize the meat while the garlic soaks in. I switch between this and my chicken fajita marinade or cilantro lime marinade depending on the flavor I'm going for.
How long does homemade sauce last in the freezer?
I've kept mine frozen for up to 4 months with no change in flavor. I freeze it in ice cube trays so I can grab exactly what I need. The garlic mellows slightly after freezing, but once it hits a hot pan I can't tell the difference.
Does coconut aminos work the same as soy sauce in this recipe?
I've used coconut aminos many times and it works, but it runs noticeably sweeter than soy sauce. My fix is adding a splash more vinegar to balance out that sweetness. The garlic flavor actually comes through more with coconut aminos since it's less salty, which I like when I'm watching sodium.
How do I reheat this sauce?
I usually toss refrigerated sauce straight into the hot pan with my protein. It heats through in a minute or two. If I'm reheating it separately, I warm it in a small saucepan over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Microwave works too (10-15 seconds), but I prefer the pan method because the sauce reduces slightly and the flavor concentrates.
Can I use this as a salad dressing?
I do, especially on Asian cucumber salad. I skip the thickener and add a drizzle of sesame oil. It makes a light, tangy dressing that works well on cold noodle bowls and sliced vegetables. I've also tossed it with shredded cabbage for a quick slaw.
What's the difference between this sauce and teriyaki sauce?
My teriyaki sauce is thicker and has sweetener, which gives it that sticky glaze. This one is thinner, sharper from the vinegar, and has no sweetener at all. I swap between the two depending on whether I want savory or sweet. They use similar base ingredients so I make both from the same pantry shelf.
Does this sauce need to be refrigerated?
Yes. I always refrigerate it after making a batch. Homemade sauces without preservatives need to stay cold. Mine lasts up to two weeks in the fridge in a sealed mason jar.
Is this stir fry sauce keto?
Yes, this is my go-to keto stir fry sauce and all three ingredients are naturally low carb. Soy sauce has under a gram of carbs per tablespoon, vinegar has none, and fresh garlic barely registers, so a serving stays right where I need it. I skip the sugar that bottled versions sneak in, which is the whole reason I started making my own. When I want it soy-free I reach for coconut aminos, and that runs a touch higher in carbs but still fits how I eat.
Six servings doesn't last the week. I double it.
My seven-year-old is obsessed. Three ingredients.
Tara, a seven-year-old stamp of approval is the hardest kind to earn. Nothing in those three that tastes diet to a kid either, no sweetener, nothing off.
Took me twelve batches. The move is adding this off heat instead of cooking it down. Garlic stays sharp, sauce keeps a clean consistency instead of that thick paste you'd have to thin. I batch a double portion on Sundays now. Three net carbs per serving. Two minutes no matter the batch size.
Works great but thins out fast in the pan.
Rachel, a pinch of xanthan gum stirred in before it hits the pan helps it cling. I keep it under 1/4 teaspoon - more than that and it goes gluey.
Figured out this works as a marinade and it changed how I use it entirely. Twenty minutes in it before the chicken hits the pan (no heat yet, just resting) and the garlic actually gets INTO the meat instead of just coating the outside. I do a triple batch every Sunday now because of this. Stir fry goes on Sunday night, the rest stays in the fridge, and it just gets better over two or three days as the vinegar mellows and the garlic softens. By Wednesday it's like a different sauce and I honestly don't know what to do with that information except make more of it. Treating it as a fridge staple instead of a last-second step was what made everything click.
The Wednesday batch is different from Sunday. Garlic sitting that long in the vinegar loses the bite and just becomes this background thing that makes everything taste more put-together. Triple batch from the start always.
Kept putting this off because three ingredients seemed too bare for a real stir fry sauce. Finally tried it on shrimp last night. The vinegar does the work of five ingredients by itself.
Shrimp was my first test protein for this. The vinegar is why the ingredient count stays at three. I kept trying to add things during testing and none of them improved it.
I've made probably six or seven different keto stir fry sauces over the last two years and every one of them was trying too hard. Sesame oil, fish sauce, some sweetener, xanthan gum to get the texture right, and they still never quite landed. This one is just three things and somehow that's the whole answer. The vinegar is what I kept missing in every other version. That sharp edge keeps the whole sauce from going flat, which is where the others fell apart every time. Made it Sunday with chicken thighs and zucchini and I was spooning it straight from the bowl before I even turned the heat on. Done testing other recipes.
Made a big chicken stir fry for some friends last Friday and used this instead of the Kikkoman I always reach for. My friend Cara (she reads every label at dinner parties, I love her) leaned over mid-meal and asked which brand I'd bought because hers never comes out like that at home. When I told her it was three things I mixed in a jar she sat there for a second like I was messing with her. The garlic and vinegar together give it something the bottled stuff just can't touch.
Cara's reaction is the whole review. Three things in a jar and she was convinced you'd found some bottle she'd never seen before.
Two months of testing and this is where I stopped. Rice vinegar sharpness was what every other recipe was missing.
Two months tracks. The rice vinegar sharpness is what I kept coming back to when I was testing this , pulled it out once to see what happened and put it straight back in.
I've always just grabbed a bottle of sauce from the store and never thought to make my own, but three ingredients and two minutes later I'm not sure why I waited so long. The garlic really comes through (in a good way) and the vinegar keeps it from getting too salty. I used liquid aminos because that's what I had and poured it over chicken and broccoli on a Wednesday night. Going back to the bottle version is not something I'm interested in.
The vinegar thing is the whole trick. Bottled sauce just stacks more sodium instead.
I swapped soy sauce for liquid aminos because it was what I had on hand, and the sauce ended up with this slightly sweeter edge that worked perfectly over shrimp. Then I tried shaking it in a mason jar instead of stirring in a bowl and the garlic distributed so much more evenly through the whole thing. Both accidents, both keepers. Trying it over chicken this week with an extra clove.
Mason jar thing is better, I'm switching. Liquid aminos runs a little sweeter than soy but that actually plays well with shrimp. The extra clove over chicken is smart, garlic opens up more with the higher heat.
I have tried every bottled keto stir fry sauce out there and most of them either have sweetener you can taste or that weird gummy texture from the thickeners. This one with the rice vinegar and fresh garlic just cuts through everything and actually tastes like something made in a kitchen. My wok nights are not going back.
The gummy texture thing drove me crazy for years. Xanthan gum in bottled sauce just doesn't taste like actual food. Rice vinegar keeps this one sharp and clean without needing any of that.
I don't know exactly how many times I've made this now but it has to be eight or nine at least. The first time I genuinely thought three ingredients couldn't possibly taste like actual stir fry sauce, so I was skeptical while I was shaking it in the mason jar. Then I poured it over chicken and vegetables and just stood there for a second because it tasted way more layered than it had any right to. Fresh minced garlic does something completely different than the dried stuff I used to throw into everything. I've started keeping a jar of it prepped in my fridge so I can just grab it on weeknights without thinking, which is huge for me because I'm still figuring out cooking. Spring has me going through my vegetable drawer way more often and this just works for whatever I throw in the pan. The whole thing comes together so fast I keep forgetting to appreciate that part.
Eight or nine times and you figured out the fresh garlic thing. That's exactly it. I keep a jar going the same way, Sunday night, batch made, and it's just there all week.
Made this over chicken and broccoli on a weeknight and my husband, who keeps Kikkoman in the pantry like it's non-negotiable, didn't glance at the shelf once. Told him it was three ingredients. He went quiet. Better than a compliment.
Quiet is the best reaction. Kikkoman loyalists don't convert easy.
Made this at the table during a stir fry dinner with friends because it's literally three ingredients in a mason jar, and two people watched me shake it together and asked if that was actually the whole sauce. One of them said she's been buying bottled teriyaki for years and couldn't believe homemade was this simple. Something about the garlic and vinegar ratio just tastes like it took way longer than two minutes. Keeping a jar in the fridge on rotation now.
The bottled teriyaki convert gets me every time. Two weeks in the fridge if the jar lasts that long.