Why homemade stir-fry sauces are always better than bought in ones

The Guardian

16-07-2025

Most stir-fry sauces are sweet, dense and cloying. Any lighter, fresher alternatives?Louis, Falmouth
If Julie Lin, author of Sama Sama: Comfort Food from my Malaysian-Scottish Kitchen, were to hazard a guess, it would be that Louis is buying shop-bought sauces: 'They're always sweet and dense,' she says. 'There's a phrase we use in Malaysia, agak agak, which means to season until you know that it's good for you.' And that's only ever going to come from making it yourself, which for Lin often means her 'master wok' sauce. To make a bottle, she combines 75g white sugar, three teaspoons of MSG, and 75ml rice-wine vinegar, and whisks until the sugar dissolves. Stir in 300ml light soy sauce and 100ml dark soy sauce, followed by 50ml sesame oil. Pour that into a sterilised jar or bottle, give it a shake and keep for a month at room temperature. That's then ready to go, or customise it with, say, chilli or garlic, because one stir-fry sauce is not going to fit all. While the basic master wok number is a good shout for stir-frying noodles, rice or vegetables, however, 'if you're going for a lamb stir-fry, for example, you'll probably want to add some cumin, garlic and maybe make it more vinegary.'
For Justin Tsang, author of Long Day? Cook This: Easy East Asian Recipes with a Twist, it's all about balance: 'The perfect stir-fry sauce has to be salty, sweet and umami, but it shouldn't be one more than the other; it should work in harmony.' If your sauce is bordering on too sweet or dense, anything 'a bit tart or fruity' will work wonders: 'That could be some sort of acid, such as lime juice to finish, or vinegar, or a splash of sharp Worcestershire sauce,' says Tsang, who has also been known to add HP Sauce to the mix. Alternatively, get to know your onions: 'Using the finest grater on a box grater, grate a white onion into an almost-pulp, then mix into your sauce, along with a splash of vinegar – that will cut through any sweetness and make it lighter.'
Another shortcut to flavour is chicken stock. 'People don't think to add it to stir-fry sauce, but it waters it down and just makes it nice,' Tsang says. If noodles (egg, flat rice, vermicelli) are in play, he'd also whack in a load of finely grated garlic and ginger – 'use a microplane to get them really fine' – plus fish, oyster and soy sauces: 'But only enough to make you think it's not going to do anything, because it will still build layers of umami.'
If the goal is something lighter and brighter, Lin would knock up a quick bihun goreng, which starts with a base of onion, chilli and garlic. 'Add whatever protein you fancy [chicken, pork, prawns, tofu], then tip in some light and dark soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and a bit of chilli oil.' In with some cooked rice noodles, then add any crunchy veg you have to hand: 'Green beans or beansprouts, but don't cook them too long that they lose their crunch, because you want some texture.' If you're feeling brave, Lin adds, shove everything to one side of the pan, pour a beaten egg into the other side and scramble.' Let everything come together and serve with sambal and maybe a fried egg. Well, two eggs are always better than one.
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